The blog of tomorrow...... Today
After this weeks long talk with an old friend(Greg) I thought I'd blog a few words down while I was in the writing mood.
First off, I got my grades back a few weeks ago from this past semester. Here they are:
Enterprise Security (Internet Security): A
Network Operating Systems II (Enterprise Linux): A
Networking Technology II (Cisco 4): A
English 102: B
With that done I complete 2 years of college work and wrap up all the Technical work for my Computer Networking major with a 4.0 G.P.A. (only includes the technical classes, not the core classes, or the general classes such as English 102). Now, since my school doesn't offer a true Bachelors Degree in their CNET program I need to pick an area of emphasis, such as management, marketing, or psychology. I have to admit, at the moment I'm leaning towards business management.
At any rate, most of my classmates graduated with their Associates a few weeks back, while I'm continuing on for at least a couple more years. I'd say overall that it ended up being a fairly successful few years, I mean, for somebody who's never done anything in the I.T. field before. It's this that kind of makes me wonder what I'm doing here, and thinking about it leads me to the real reason for this blog and a question I find that I quite often ask myself- am I doing what I need to do today?
You know, I've said this before, and I'll continue to say it, I've never had so much fun in my entire life as I've had over these past two years in school. Just having the ability to play around with computers for hours at a time for a line of work, I find immensely satisfying. But this just started with me dreaming about having a good education that will help me advance my life. And you know what? If I look back, I'd say what got me here today is doing the right thing each day, in every opportunity I had, by God's grace I for the most part have been able to do the right thing.
In all this, what dreams I had, have led way to bigger, more life changing dreams. Dreams beyond the world of computers. Life changing dreams that will help people out. I don't know how things are all going to fit together, but the question still remains the same. Am I doing what I need to do today? And so I find myself being hammered in my thought life by the following questions that I invite you to ask yourself.
Do you find yourself laying awake some nights wondering how your present reality will ever connect with the dreams that fill your heart? Do you dream dreams that are bigger than you can imagine? Or do you write off what you feel is too big, and dismiss it as only your pride talking? Why do you dream what you dream, and why don't other people? I'm not talking about being self-righteous here, but rather honestly and clearly asking yourself, why is this in me and why has God entrusted me with this? Seeing as how there'll never be anybody, ever again who can do exactly what you can do, what is it you would do if money wasn't an issue, if time wasn't an issue, and you knew you couldn't fail?
Quite often people find themselves getting caught up in those questions: I don't have enough time; I don't have enough money; What if I fail? But what is that amazing big thing, that you feel drawn to? That thing that you keep finding yourself going back to again and again? That draws you out of sleep at night, and that you see shadows of in the daylight?
In my long talk with Greg the other day we talked about quite a few different things- life, love, computers, traffic and food, but it came together nicely at the end. In the end we were talking about what that thing that's in great people that draws them to their ultimate destiny. The way that I spoke what I spoke was so cool(it clearly was more than me talking, but rather Christ in me), I said, "when God created Adam, what was it He said? I have given you dominion. In everybody is a desire to have dominion over their lives. Adam lost dominion to Satan, but Christ retook that what Adam lost. Through Christ, we have dominion." Now, dominion means "the power or right of governing and controlling". So, through Christ, we have the power or the right to govern and control our own lives.
So, if you have dominion, if you really do have the power to control your life, if Christ has really given to you all things needed to live the life that He has called you to live, then what's stopping your dreams from coming to pass? And if you worry that you'll fail, or that you've already failed, how do you know you will if you never really tried?
These are just a few thoughts that cross my mind every now and then. The sad thing about it though is, that there are people that go their entire lives without asking themselves any of this. Now I don't want to give the impression that I think I'm so great, because up until a few years ago I was one of those people that never thought about this, but I want to just ask this question to myself, and if you're reading this feel free to ask this of yourself, am I fulfilling my God given purpose in life? If not, why not? And how can I change it?
The way I see it is, it's better to die doing what you love, making a difference, than to live your entire life, die old, but never accomplished, or attempted to accomplish, the dreams that you had. With that thought, this post has already taken up too much space. On one final note I'll leave this quote that I read from time to time, that has provided a good deal of inspiration.
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
First off, I got my grades back a few weeks ago from this past semester. Here they are:
Enterprise Security (Internet Security): A
Network Operating Systems II (Enterprise Linux): A
Networking Technology II (Cisco 4): A
English 102: B
With that done I complete 2 years of college work and wrap up all the Technical work for my Computer Networking major with a 4.0 G.P.A. (only includes the technical classes, not the core classes, or the general classes such as English 102). Now, since my school doesn't offer a true Bachelors Degree in their CNET program I need to pick an area of emphasis, such as management, marketing, or psychology. I have to admit, at the moment I'm leaning towards business management.
At any rate, most of my classmates graduated with their Associates a few weeks back, while I'm continuing on for at least a couple more years. I'd say overall that it ended up being a fairly successful few years, I mean, for somebody who's never done anything in the I.T. field before. It's this that kind of makes me wonder what I'm doing here, and thinking about it leads me to the real reason for this blog and a question I find that I quite often ask myself- am I doing what I need to do today?
You know, I've said this before, and I'll continue to say it, I've never had so much fun in my entire life as I've had over these past two years in school. Just having the ability to play around with computers for hours at a time for a line of work, I find immensely satisfying. But this just started with me dreaming about having a good education that will help me advance my life. And you know what? If I look back, I'd say what got me here today is doing the right thing each day, in every opportunity I had, by God's grace I for the most part have been able to do the right thing.
In all this, what dreams I had, have led way to bigger, more life changing dreams. Dreams beyond the world of computers. Life changing dreams that will help people out. I don't know how things are all going to fit together, but the question still remains the same. Am I doing what I need to do today? And so I find myself being hammered in my thought life by the following questions that I invite you to ask yourself.
Do you find yourself laying awake some nights wondering how your present reality will ever connect with the dreams that fill your heart? Do you dream dreams that are bigger than you can imagine? Or do you write off what you feel is too big, and dismiss it as only your pride talking? Why do you dream what you dream, and why don't other people? I'm not talking about being self-righteous here, but rather honestly and clearly asking yourself, why is this in me and why has God entrusted me with this? Seeing as how there'll never be anybody, ever again who can do exactly what you can do, what is it you would do if money wasn't an issue, if time wasn't an issue, and you knew you couldn't fail?
Quite often people find themselves getting caught up in those questions: I don't have enough time; I don't have enough money; What if I fail? But what is that amazing big thing, that you feel drawn to? That thing that you keep finding yourself going back to again and again? That draws you out of sleep at night, and that you see shadows of in the daylight?
In my long talk with Greg the other day we talked about quite a few different things- life, love, computers, traffic and food, but it came together nicely at the end. In the end we were talking about what that thing that's in great people that draws them to their ultimate destiny. The way that I spoke what I spoke was so cool(it clearly was more than me talking, but rather Christ in me), I said, "when God created Adam, what was it He said? I have given you dominion. In everybody is a desire to have dominion over their lives. Adam lost dominion to Satan, but Christ retook that what Adam lost. Through Christ, we have dominion." Now, dominion means "the power or right of governing and controlling". So, through Christ, we have the power or the right to govern and control our own lives.
So, if you have dominion, if you really do have the power to control your life, if Christ has really given to you all things needed to live the life that He has called you to live, then what's stopping your dreams from coming to pass? And if you worry that you'll fail, or that you've already failed, how do you know you will if you never really tried?
These are just a few thoughts that cross my mind every now and then. The sad thing about it though is, that there are people that go their entire lives without asking themselves any of this. Now I don't want to give the impression that I think I'm so great, because up until a few years ago I was one of those people that never thought about this, but I want to just ask this question to myself, and if you're reading this feel free to ask this of yourself, am I fulfilling my God given purpose in life? If not, why not? And how can I change it?
The way I see it is, it's better to die doing what you love, making a difference, than to live your entire life, die old, but never accomplished, or attempted to accomplish, the dreams that you had. With that thought, this post has already taken up too much space. On one final note I'll leave this quote that I read from time to time, that has provided a good deal of inspiration.
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt