Winter quarter is that time of the school year where everyone tends to bury themselves in work. The mentality is that winter quarter is shorter, so you might as well overload your schedule with extra classes and work to get more done quickly.

When I look at the times of my college career when I chose to operate within this negative, work-buried mindset, I see that it led to nothing but painful episodes of depression and anxiety.

Going into winter quarter, I knew I wanted to fight against this poisonous temptation to allow my work and academic career to fill my time. And that's when I reflected on in what ways I follow Jesus.

As a Christian, your focus should be in following Jesus (doing your best to live by His teachings and commands, proclaiming Him as our Savior who reconciles us with God through dying as a sacrifice for all of our sins). And as simple as just "following Him" may sound, it takes daily dedication and intentionality on our own part.

This intentionality is what the apostle Paul (a very early Jesus follower) discusses when writing to a community of other Jesus followers in ancient Greece (a city called Ephesus). In his letter, Paul warns the Ephesians to "be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is" (Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV).

I want to highlight the weirdest phrase in this specific warning: the idea that the days are somehow evil. Not only that, but we must make the most of every opportunity because they are evil.

Essentially, I believe this verse is very applicable to the college life. College is a time of uncharted independence: as young adults, we get a taste of how far we can take our free will. We can sleep in whenever, party and hang out with whoever, fill our schedule with however much work and school we want...and these little choices of how we spend our time matter.

When we choose to follow Jesus, this should change how we choose to spend our time. We can think of our current days as college student (in a way) as evil: there are opportunities and encouragements to turn away from following Jesus to pursue selfish pleasure. Therefore, we need to be careful of how we live as Jesus followers in this environment.

Instead of lazily sleeping in, foolishly wasting away my time, I have a sleep schedule (even on the weekends) that keeps me consistently refreshed and ready to glorify God, as I am well rested and alert, on guard against temptation that could try to encourage me to stray from following Jesus.

Instead of partying with random people (or even friends I may know), I spend time in a community of Jesus followers. Here, I know that the people I am friends with (and whom I consider family) are looking out for me, guiding me in my walk with Jesus, glorifying God in everything I do, and also showing me love and compassion.

Instead of just filling my schedule with a strenuous workload and the maximum amount of credits I can take, I enroll in a number of classes and take on an amount of work that leaves me time where I can truly put God first: I can find half an hour or so each day to spend in God's Presence (by reading my Bible, praying, journaling, listening to music that praises Him).

These relatively simple yet intentional choices amount to me being a well-rested Jesus follower, who possesses a caring and loving God-focused family while still having time alone to foster and build my relationship with God through seeking the Presence of His Spirit.

While Paul's letter was written a long time ago, the warnings to Jesus followers in how they intentionally spend their time clearly is applicable to the average college life of a Jesus follower. It is my hope that the ways I intentionally spend my time to keep my focus on Jesus (scheduling sleep, investing in community, allowing for personal time in God's Presence) will encourage you to think about how you are spending your time as a college-attending Jesus follower: are you intentional? Are you careful? Do you make the most of the time God gives you?

With winter quarter officially here, and classes and work underway, let's show that our number one priority is following Jesus!