I slept in till noon yesterday because I didn't have work or any finals. I grabbed lunch in the coffee shop with Trista and Kyle, then hung out with Heather, Valerie, and Joel for a while. Cassie and I grabbed dinner and ran off to Bethesda Hospital to visit John and Ashley Price and their new baby, Chloe Price. She's adorable. John and Ashley met in January last year, were married by March, and they had their baby December 9, I believe. 8 pounds 11 ounces. Cassie loves babies and would not let the baby out of her hands. Quite funny. Upon returning, I hung out with Jessica and Kyle and refused to study for my Basic Bible Doctrines exam. I took the exam this morning at 8:00, was finished by 8:10, and then I crept back to my room and slept till 11:00. Today I am studying for Prophecy and Advanced Communications with Kyle, I'm going to Best Buy with Emily to get Caleb's Christmas gift, and other than that I really don't know what I'm going to do.

As I lied in bed half asleep this morning, a great idea for a novel formulated in my mind. It's influenced by The Boondock Saints and the story of the judge Gideon, influenced by the movies Man on Fire and Unbreakable. It's really quite original. I'm going to stencil out an outline today and perhaps start writing it this weekend. It would be something to keep me occupied over the down time over break. I’m also contemplating a good zombie novel and a romantic tragedy (probably not the best idea for my emotions right now, though!).

My "getting over" Julie continues to be a work-in-progress. There are times when I see her and it hurts, and then there are times when I am not affected at all. There are times when I do not think about her at all throughout the entire day, and then there are times when she crowds my every waking thought. Each day becomes easier than the day before it, though not exponentially (if that makes any sense). I’m totally over Sonja and would not get back with her; being away from her presence helped me get over her. I’m thinking Christmas break will help; sadly, living on a small Christian campus causes me to see Julie all the time, and the healing of these emotional wounds is slowed. Oh, and she just walked by and my heart tore. Such is how it goes, I guess.

I am thinking about searching for a preaching internship for somewhere over the summer. It would be a wonderful opportunity for me to really discover if the preaching ministry is for me.

Here’s a beautiful verse I read the other day; it really stuck out to me. This scripture is addressed to Christians who have claimed allegiance to Christ but yet continue to live in pursuit of the pleasures of the world. After rebuking them for their unfaithfulness to God, James gives this command:

“[G]ive yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to him. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, he will lift you up,encourage and help you.” (James 4.7-10, TLB)