Georgetown Basketball EPIC FAIL

With school work being relatively light this week, I thought for sure I could kick back tonight and watch the Hoya's secure victory against UConn. WRONG! The game accelerated my anxiety more so than a Management Science assignment involving multiple constraints and parameters. Throughout the game, the lead changed hands multiple times. Then with 4:01 to go, Freeman scored, giving Georgetown the lead 70-69. Tragically, right after that UConn went on a 9-0 streak, and Georgetown MISSED 4 three pointers in a row (any of which would have allowed them to win). I mean really... WTH MATE??? Final score: Georgetown 70, UConn 78. '

Initially, I was disappointed, frustrated and somewhat angry. To make myself feel better I thought, "Well it's a good thing I didn't shell out serious cash for floor seats to the home game against Cuse, because they'll probs choke again". My roommate got pretty tired of my grumbling/complaining so she tried to block out this bad memory by distracting me with American Idol, which worked pretty well. I also was able to calm down when I stopped my "what have you done for me lately attitude" and went back and looked at how Georgetown has performed in the past. How easily I had forgotten how well Georgetown played 4 days earlier against Marquette, or how well they played during any of the other 7 games they had WON in the past month:

STATS:
1/15 @ Rutgers: 74-65 W
1/18 @ Seaton Hall: 80-75 W
1/26 St. Johns : 77-52 W
1/29 @ #13Villanova: 69-66 W
1/31 # 7 Louisville 62-59 W
2/5 Providence : 83-81 W
2/9 @ #17 Syracuse: 64-56 W (First time in 9 years Gtown beat Cuse away)
2/13 Marquette: 69-60 W
(rankings were current when game took place)

After reviewing the stats, I realized that I shouldn't be so quick to lose FAITH in my team. Maybe if the team changed in some way (coach gets fired, starter gets injured) then I would have a legit reason to lose faith. Or maybe if Georgetown wasn't #9 in the country and instead lost frequently to unknown division 1 teams, I would be justified in losing faith.

I think so often we do this in all aspects of our lives. We are all happy when our subordinate is performing well, until he turns in that one crap TPS report and we forget the good work he has done in the past and instead begin to question his future capabilities. Or we are happy with our significant other/ spouse, until that time they forget to say "I love you too" before hanging up, and we forget how they cooked us dinner for Valentines Day a few days ago and instead relabel them as insensitive and unloving. And yea I get it... we lose faith in people because humans are flawed. But what if there was someone who always kept his promises? What if past performance was a 100% indication of future results and there was no variation within that? Surely, we wouldn't doubt this person's capabilities and LOSE FAITH when we were in a time of uncertainty, right? Unfortunately, that isn't the case. If this person is God and we look at how the Israelites complained/doubted God even though He had ALWAYS come through for them in the past, you'll see what I mean...

Complaint: ²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Exodus 15:22-24

Keep in mind, just days earlier God had come through in huge miraculous was for them...

STATS:
- Freed Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 13)
- Chilled w/ Israelites in the form of cloud to protect them during the day from Egyptians (Exodus 14)
- Chilled w/Israelites in the form of a pillar of fire at night to keep them warm and help destroy Egyptians (Exodus 14)
- Parted the Red Sea so Israelites could cross on dry land, and then closed the Sea so that wall of water crashed down and destroyed their enemies (Exodus 14)

Take away: Don't doubt God's capabilities and dwindle your faith. Unlike the Hoyas, or any other humans, God is perfect and all powerful...if God did it before, He can do it again! Start a prayer journal where you keep track of prayer requests and praises. Then, when having difficulty thinking God may not come through, go back and read some of your old entries and reflect on how He's worked in your life. This will give you courage and comfort. Please note, this is not some health/wealth prosperity gospel where I'm saying that God is some magic genie in a bottle and whatever you wish for he will give you. What I'm saying is the following: when you are going through a hard time, look back on what God has done for you in the past and it will help you to remember his faithfulness and goodness, thereby giving you hope and enabling you to maintain your faith :) .

and yes, I'm still a Georgetown fan. HoyaSaxa!

TACO BELL- Is it Beef?

I really despise the media. My friends often make fun of me because I am never aware of any current news...but why are they so surprised?? They know I don't read the news and I don't watch the news. I think I dislike it so much because it's always slanted, and I don't want to have to do my own research to find out the truth. So alas, I settle for the mantra "it's better to be uninformed, than misinformed" . HOWEVER, my interest was piqued last week when I was on a plane and some broseph in First Class opened up the NYT to and entire 1 page ad from Taco Bell, titled "Thank you for suing us" . Since I happen to love Taco Bell, I decided it would be a worth while venture for me to go all Carmen San Diego on myself and find out the truth. Let's dive right in, shall we? We'll cover the background first...

RUMOR: Taco Bell is deceiving customers by falsely claiming products are beef when they indeed are not beef.

HEARSAY:

AL Law Firm --> Products are ONLY 36% beef, thus not beef
Taco Bell:--------> Meat Product is 88% Beef, 12% Secret Filling
PETA--------------> Congrats to Taco Bell for finally "thinking outside the beef"

TRUTH:

USDA/FTC: Manufacturers can label a product as beef if the product comprises at least 40% beef and is properly labeled as "meat filling" and not just "meat". However, this only applies to manufacturers of meat and not distributors.

LAB RESULTS: In process

VERDICT: ERRONEOUS ON ALL COUNTS! Taco Bell, along with other restaurants, is classified as a distributor and thus exempt from any USDA/FTC regulations. If you're curious of all ingredients in TB's meat product go here. So really, this law firm, which simply wants TB to change it's advertisements from saying "beef" to "meat filling" has no merit. And really, who cares if the mixture isn't all beef. Shoot, I am just happy to know they are actually using beef AT ALL.....Anyone who has eaten TB has surely contemplated that its unnaturally high level of tastiness given it's paltry price is only economically sustainable due to TB using mystery meat of non-cow origin.

MORAL: Never take what you hear to be the truth. Always make sure to do your own research to confirm or deny said truths. Which reminds me, you should also apply this to anytime you go to a church. Today I want to run through a few common "rumors" about the fundamentals of Christianity and examine the truth.

RUMOR #1:You have to be a good person to go to heaven

TRUTH: clearly, not true. The below verse clearly shows we were enemies of God when Christ died for us, so def not good people.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Romans 5:6-10

RUMOR#2 We must earn our way to heaven by doing works (church, nice to poor, 7 sacraments, tithing)

TRUTH: we can't earn our way into heaven. heaven is a gift from God for those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 9:10-10

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. " Ephesians 2:8-9

RUMOR #3: If you don't go to church you'll go to hell. You are never permanently forgiven and thus must enter purgatory after death to work off your bad deeds.

TRUTH: Once a believer, always a believer, we can't lose our salvation.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. " 1 Peter 1:3-5

Also, I took all the above verses and made it into the below present for my Fashsa... you know 20 hours, glue stick, tweezers, 1 latex glove, NBD.

So yea, whenever you hear a pastor or televangelist say something, always do your own research. Go to the word of God and ask God to reveal His truth to you. It will work because the Word is "is alive and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;" Hebrews 4:12. Peace out homie!

Times When I'm Truly Happy

The above represents my personal Venn Diagram over winter break. Recall that Venn Diagrams usually depict two overlapping circles upon which overlap represents commonalities between the two circles. Now, since there is no overlap in the above diagram, the appropriate inference is that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to be truly happy unless I am playing Michael Jackson's Wii Dance Game (esp. Smooth Criminal). I mean, why else would one of my best friends and I spend a Friday night in to play it when we had multiple options for going out on the town in NYC? Answer: it is magically entertaining.

Now maybe you agree with the above conclusion, or maybe there is some other circumstance in your life that must happen in order for you to be happy...Think for a minute and try and fill in the following: I will be happy once I __________? ... get a promotion? Get married? Get to go on vacation? Have children? Get a job at a top 500 firm? Enter the 35% income tax bracket? Buy a house? Get a PhD or Masters? .... or something else?

For me, since returning back from winter break, I'll admit the answer has become "get an internship". The MBA program does a good job of brainwashing you the summer before you even start school to believe in the unspoken equation: Internship = Your only shot at a future = Happiness once you turn it into a full time job. This morning, I was so sure that I was on the road to securing an internship, until I got a call from a recruiter at a Company that I had a final round interview at last week. The result: My candidacy status is currently "on hold". Shortly thereafter, I learned that 6 of my classmates got offers at the same Company which is phenomenal news and I couldn't be happier for them! Although I was surprised I didn't get an offer, I was able to avoid feeling disappointed and upset by reflecting on Romans 8:28. This verse helped to remind me that God is sovereign, He understands the big picture, and ultimately things will work out...And just when I thought, ah ha! I'm growing in my faith and starting to understand all there is to know about being a Christian, God showed me an even BIGGER message later tonight, at Frontline Arlington: as Christians contentment shouldn't come from circumstances, instead contentment should be found in Christ (easier said than done). I've organized key points into below because I have to share the awesomeness that was this sermon.



One thing I didn't know....apparently the church of Philippi was under sick-nasty persecution... I'm talking evil. Check this out: Around 61 AD Emperor Nero was notorious for wrapping Christians in animal skins and feeding them to lions in front of a crowd. He also would tie Christians to stakes , light them on fire and mock Christianity saying "let now you be the light to the world". In spite of this all, Paul urged the church of Phillipi to be content. WOWZA.

DISCLAIMER: It's totes okay to grieve and cry when bad things happen. Heck, even Jesus wept when his friends were grieving loss of a loved one (John 11:32-35)...just remember there is contentment to be found that is independent of circumstances.

And on that note, it's time for bed!