Plugging Into A Bible Study

I have found that with the busy schedules of being in college, you get into a monotonous routine, for many Christians, this includes just going to church and that's it. To further strengthen your relationship and to stay strong against the temptations, it is important to get plugged into a weekly bible study. This can be within your church, organization, or just with a group of friends.
The positive aspects of being plugged into a bible study with your church is that is organized and is on the same night every week and many times it is led by older adults who have been through what you could be going through. I did a bible study with a few friends my freshmen year and it didn't go so well, we didn't meet routinely and we led it. I am not saying that you shouldn't do a bible study with friends, I am just warning you that it is harder because of each others different schedules. Currently, I am going to a bible study led by adults in an organization I am in. We have it once a week and you always know when it happens and where. We talk about things going on in life and just hang out while getting to know the Lord more intimately.

At Texas A&M, we have a campus wide bible study called Breakaway that is held every Tuesday and is open to anyone and everyone. Your school may have something similar to this. For Breakaway, we have a professional speaker you gives a lesson and a band comes to play. It is like youth group back in high school.

Going to church just isn't enough, during the week so much goes on in your life that you need to be continually poured into. It is easy to go to church on Sundays and get lost in life during the week. You also get to meet so many new friends by joining a bible study.

External Beauty

One thing that everyone struggles with is external beauty but when you get in college it seems to multiply by thousands. Everywhere you go, you see magazines with what the world sees as beautiful and perfection. In college, it is no different, there are girls and guys all around you that work out and with a rec center right at your fingertips, it is easy to get caught up in the commotion of getting that perfect body.

Everyone has heard of the freshmen 15 and being a freshman last year, I was terrified of gaining 15 pounds because I was worried about what I would look like to the world and how they would perceive me. Without your parents around you to keep you on track of your eating and exercising, a big responsibility is put on your shoulders to stay healthy. With all the stress of school and trying to keep grades up and worring about your future, it is easy to feel out of control.

I have found it easy to get caught up in the worldly views of what is perfect and beautiful. Something that has helped me stay grounded on what is truly beautiful and perfect is having good christian friends to help me stay accountable. They are also someone who I can lean on when I feel like I am struggling and they are someone who understands the struggles that I am going through. Getting plugged into a good church has also helped keep me on track too. With the routine of going to church, you are continually poured into with what Christ sees as true beauty and perfection.

Here is a passage of scripture that has definately helped me when I feel like the world is getting control of my feelings on what is beautiful;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=song%20of%20songs%206:4-9;&version=65;

Worrying About Grades

When you get to college, you will hear a lot about your grades and GPA. To be successful in the world means to get the best grades, graduate at the top of your class, and to go on to make a lot of money.

During my freshmen year, I was obsessed with my grades and spent all my time studying. The studying paid off and I made good grades. I was struggling with other parts of my life though. I realized that grades are not everything. As Christians, we realize that there is something so much greater waiting for us than what is here on earth. It is easy though, to get sucked up into what the world thinks is important.

One thing that has helped me is to read the Bible and just keep reminding myself that my life is in God's hands and that He has a plan for my life. This plan may not be what I want right now, but in the end it will all work out. Another thing that has helped me is to just be surrounded with other Christians so that I do not get so worked up about grades and lose control. They help keep me accountable, level-headed, and grounded.

One more thing is to have an adult mentor that you can turn to when life gets rough. They have gone through what we are going through right now and they have learned from their mistakes. A mentor has more knowledge about life and the obstacles that it will throw at us.

This things helped me and they should help you. The most important thing is to not get caught up with what the world thinks and to just live your life through Christ and to follow Him and trust in Him.

Making Christian Friends

Usually when you come to college many of your friends do not come with you. It is scary not having that close knit of friends with you anymore, they aren't there to keep you accountable or to do things with instead of going partying and drinking.

I was lucky enough to have five of my closest friends go to the same college as me. They kept me accountable and we still did things together. One thing I promised myself was that even though my best friends were coming to college with me, I would make new Christian friends.
At the University I go to, there are over 300 student run organizations to become involved in. The first thing I did was go to open house, which is a day when all the organizations gather together and advertise so you will join their organization. I encourage you to do that too if your school has a time like this. Obviously, in order to make new Christian friends, I would advise you to join some Christian-based organizations. There are others ways to meet Christians, become involved in your church, join non-Christian based organizations because there is bound to be some Christians in them. I have also realized that you can meet Christians in your classes. At first this might seem intimidating to just go up to someone in your class and start talking to them about religion. I wouldn't say to do that but I am saying that you should get to know them first and then maybe start talking about religion and church.

During the second semester of my freshmen year, I was sitting by this girl in my math class and we got along great. Almost three-fourths the way through the semester, I realized that she was a Christian.

So in short, I would recommend that you would get involved in Christian and non-Christian organizations, start talking to your classmates, and get involved in your church.

Lust and Pride

While writing this blog, I was thinking that I should put up a blog about an issue that the individual sexes face. I asked one of my good guy friends what an issue was that guys face when they come to college regarding them being a Christian. He told me that pride and lust were the big things that guys face.

When guys come to college, there aren't any dress codes or rules about what to wear and where you have to sleep. This means that girls can be dressed or not dressed in whatever they want. You see girls walking around on campus in shorts, skirts, and dressed that barely cover their butt. Its hard for guys to not think about what is under there and to want to "hit that". Because of what girls wear or do not wear, guys are tempted every day when they to go class. When guys see girls dressed scandaly, thoughts just pop into their heads.

Girls, we can help this problem by covering up and by not showing so much skin. There a lot of ways to look cute and catch a guy's attention without trying to catch a guy's attention.

Now for being prideful. I know the world sees guys as being tough and able to get through anything that life throws at them. The truth is guys are as vulnerable as girls its just that they do not show it. Here is a little advice for the guys, it is ok to ask for help when you are in a situation that you do not know how to get out of or if you are struggling with something. To me, it means more that a man can admit when he is over his head than if he tries to get through it by himself and just keeps sinking. It also means a lot to girls and other people when you admit when you did something wrong. It doesn't mean that you couldn't do it, it just means that you might have made a mistake. By admiting that you made a mistake, it makes you seem more human and more honest. Also, when something amazing happens to you or when you accomplish something, give it up to God. Yes, it was some of your doing, but you would not have been able to do it without God. He was there through it all with you.

Having A Professor With Different Beliefs

One thing about going to a secular university is that some of your professors will have very different beliefs than you and some will be on the same track as you. I have noticed that being a biology major, you run into a lot of professors that are pro-evolution, which is not something I believe in. This case doesn't just come up with science majors, you will run into professors like this in every class and in every major.

This semester, I have to take a evolution class to graduate with my major. It is very difficult for me to go to class and listen to the professor talk about how evolution is the only correct belief and that the Bible has been disproven many times. Many classes, I end up falling asleep or just getting real mad and end up not paying attention. For me, it is hard to study for something that I am not really that interested in so I have to make myself study for this class because in the long run, it can either hurt or help me with my future plans. I realized it was only a semester I had to learn about this but I didn't have to start believing in evolution.

As you go on with your college careers, you will run into more and more professors who do not share your same beliefs and they will be very blunt about it and tell you what they think about the Bible and other people's beliefs. If you do encounter a professor like this, I can tell you that getting mad every class and not paying attention is not the right thing to do. Instead, just remind yourself that you just have to learn or hear about the subject for about a semester and that you do not have to start believing in it.

One thing that has helped me is to talk to other christians about what you are going through and just fill yourself up with God's word and His spirit.