"It Is Well With My Soul"

If you've been in Men's Chorale for any amount of time, you've heard this one. Its one of Harold's favorite stories to tell, but there is definitely a reason behind the repetition. This story wows me every time, and it makes me reflect on my small, minimal woes that occur in my life daily, and the things that people overcome with the Lord's help that make them such better Christians that I. Here is the story of the type of man I want to pursue to become...


Picture this: You and your family are heading to Europe on a ship, but you have a few things to take care of before you can leave, so you send them ahead of you and will follow in a few weeks. You get notice before you leave that all four of your children have died when the ship they were on went down after a collision, and only your spouse survived to tell of it. Now, full of grief, you head on the next ship out to Europe to meet your grieving spouse. As you pass the spot where all four of your children lie, the captain comes in your cabin to let you know (as you asked) that this was where it all happened. You stand up, grab a coat, pen, and paper, and walk out to the deck in both gloom and with a mind full of longing for understanding. You, with the Lord's purpose in mind, then write the following poetic lines:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And the verses go on. This is a true story of Horatio Spafford, and I can only hope that someday I may have such faith in God. Now, try and sing this one in church without realizing the power behind such words!!

Its Been a While...

Sorry its been so long. I tend to be an inward thinker, so for me to put thoughts down on a page is sometimes a foreign idea for my body. I'm trying to be better at posting, its good for my sanity, but its definitely a work in progress.

I did it. I deleted my Facebook account. The following is an account of why in the world I would do such a thing:

• It takes up too much of my precious time.
• I'm tired of putting effort into Facebook to get to know people who I either don't know very well, want to keep in touch with for sentimental reasons, or I know only because of what their profile says.
• Its making a generation of shallow relationships.
• One of my teachers made this point in class a few weeks back, and it makes way too much sense. Facebook allows us to know each other based on what we do from day to day, and by what we like or dislike. I won't lie: this is great. But at the same time, we, as a whole, are becoming immune to what we used to know as relationships full of depth. I, for one, don't want my relationships to become shallow, and I have realized that I prefer to "like" something with words and not the click of a mouse button.
• Mark Zuckerberg annoys me.
• Recently, I watched "Social Networking." Well done movie, but I despise docu-dramas because the audience can't quite tell the difference between truth and twisted truth. Anywho, watching the movie made me realize: by using Facebook, we are stuck into the world of a 19 year old college freshman's ideas of how people should relate. Now, granted, I am a 19 year old college freshman. But at the same time, I also enjoy leaving my dorm room and talking to real people about real issues.

It was a tough choice for me, but I feel that its for the best. I was possibly one of Facebook's biggest supporters up until recent, and now I won't be able to use it at all. I would encourage anyone to do it, because I wish that we could all enjoy time together away from the computer screens every once in a while. I still would love to keep in contact with everyone, but my email, andersondonaldm@gmail.com, is now the preferable source.

Life is going pretty well. God has continued to come through for me in many ways, and I have many opportunities coming up in the next few weeks that will make me decide on different plans for next year. I would love some prayers for decision making, and I'll let you know on here how things pan out...

Spring Semester!!!

This is gonna be a good one!! Only two days in, and I am just too excited for all the possibilities to come. I got at APU on Friday and saw few good friends as most were still at home, or making their way back from bad-weathered areas. As each person wandered home over Saturday and Sunday, it was many different moments of pure excitement as everyone was just too happy to see each other. Also, it was really weird just sitting around and playing video games all weekend because I felt guilty about not doing any school work. Anywho, Sunday night came around and I was really looking forward to classes the next couple of days. Here are short tidbits about each one:

• Music Theory I : This class, required for my Music Minor, is with the same teacher, at the same time, at the same location, as my Music Fundamentals class last semester. It should be pretty easy because of the similarity, but I'm looking forward to further expanding my musical knowledge through the learning.
• Intro to Journalism : This class seems like its going to become a great learning class. The professor is a journalist herself, and is interesting and informing as she talks through her class. It may end up being a little bit more work than anticipated, but I have never minded doing a little extra work for a teacher or professor that puts in the same amount of effort into his/her students.
• Practical Musicianship I : I truly had no idea what this class was about when I signed up for it, but, again, its for my Music Minor. I found out that the class is really just a prep class for learning and practicing all of the musical skills one would never learn in a normal class or rehearsal setting. Things like keeping pitch, multitasking, and purposefully focusing on weaknesses while performing are some of the things we'll work on.
• Intro to Literature : When this class first started, I couldn't stop thinking in my head how my teacher dressed like my Senior year British Literature teacher. And then she started talking. And then she made a joke (attempted). And then she started talking about assignments. This is when I made the following inference: my teacher from high school had reincarnated in my professors body and doesn't know it. Its kind of scary to watch, but at least I know what to expect from her teaching style.
• Comparative Family Systems : This class is going to be changing my view on life every single time I walk in. The teacher is so captivating and I don't think anyone has ever held my undivided attention for as long of a time as she did earlier today. The objective perspective she put on specific parts of life in just one class was mind-boggling, and I can't stop analyzing in my head now. Dangerous class...
• Christian Life, Faith, and Ministries : This class opened up with the professor, who is renowned on campus for teaching this class and is highly recommended by everyone on campus, spending about 40 minutes telling everyone that his class was extremely hard, if you care about your GPA you should leave now, and that unless you're willing to work your butt off, you should leave now with no regrets. He made a fantastic point about all of the harshness and about pushing a primarily freshmen class so stinking hard by talking about his 5-year-old daughter. With all of us soon becoming her doctors, lawyers, law enforcement, and teachers, why shouldn't he push us to become something more than we were previously? He probably said it better, and I really respect his opinion on pushing us as hard as I'm sure he will. Sadly, no one left because that would have been a story to tell for sure. After he did that and we went through the syllabus, he asked everyone to tell the class their name, where they came from, and the most exciting thing that has ever happened to them. From that point on, he was just purely amazing. Completely captivating when commenting on someone's most exciting event, and you can just see love he has in the Lord exuding from his every word. Literally.

Anywho, thats my class list of new classes for the upcoming semester. I can't believe I have such wonderful classes with professors that seem to be truly devoted to teaching and learning from the students. I am truly blessed to be here :)

Oh, Breaks.

They're good. They're odd. But they can be what you want them to be. I really have missed my family and friends here at home, but I definitely miss my family at APU also. This break has just been full of catching up on what I've been missing the past 4 months, and its really interesting to view life around Fremont with a different perspective on life now that I've been on my own for this past fall. You expect to come back and see life through the same lens that you used while you were in high school, but its funny how your lens get wider and more refined when you come back. You can see things from a truer perspective, one that allows you to kind of perceive how things were in the past. Its just been an interesting experience being able to reflect on everything in this time of relaxing.

School is so close!! I have absolutely never been so excited to go to school. I'm even excited for the classes....but obviously not the work. Sometime soon I'll give the first week synopsis on all of my classes, and hopefully I am being challenged a tad more this semester than last. I can't wait to see everyone when I get back, and I feel blessed to be able to spend another semester with the people who I call my family at Azusa Pacific.