Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

I read these words during my senior year of college, when I took a class that forever changed the way I perceive life...and faith. This class included a heavy reading list of American writers and as a part of the course; we went on a 3-week whirlwind trip through the frigid New England area during the middle of January.

On that trip, I walked around Walden Pond, the very place where Thoreau secluded himself from the world and wrote these words. Seeing the sun set behind the trees at Walden brought me to a place of simplicity within myself. I, too, wanted to live deliberately, but I wasn't sure how. After we returned home, my classmates and I spent countless hours debating what it meant to live deliberately for Christ. Especially in the materialistic and consumer-driven society that is America.

You see, I was born and raised in a strong Christian home. I grew up loving Jesus and experiencing first-hand the amazing and mysterious ways God works in our lives. My family experienced many difficult situations, but God took the bad and used them to bring about wonderful things. Growing up, my faith was often challenged and tested by these difficult times, but I always found myself looking to Christ. And He was always sufficient.

In high school, I was heavily involved in my church's youth group as a small-group leader. I was blessed in being trained and taught by a very strong youth pastor who loved Jesus more than anyone else I've ever known. When I looked at him, I saw what it meant to be radically alive in Christ.

Then came college and complications. I went to an amazing Christian college where I met many wonderful Christians. However, I also encountered many people who were merely doing the "church" thing. Their faith was a casual habit for them, like checking the mail or listening to the radio. Some of these people were fourth-, fifth-, or even tenth-generation Christians, but for them, their faith was just one compartment of their lives. It was mostly separate from everything else they did. They were content with the American Dream—wealth, security, and above all, comfort.

They'd lived securely in a cloud of Christianity for so long that they didn't notice that the air had gone stagnant. It frustrated me and puzzled me. Was this faith? Was this Christianity?

But I knew one thing: I did not want to become like them. I did not want to live out my life with a mediocre, comfortable faith. At my death, I did not want to discover that my life had been a waste because I had not really lived for Christ. Thoreau was not a Christian writer, but when I watched the sun set at Walden Pond, his words brought me a sense of simplicity in my faith. I had stumbled onto a sort of solution for my frustration with Americanized Christianity.

I discussed this newfound simplicity with my classmates and friends. During one of these conversations, the phrase carpe diem kept popping into my head: "seize the day." Then I suddenly realized that living deliberately for Christ does not mean to live my life by the mantra carpe diem but by carpe Deum. "Seize God." Carpe Deum, Carpe Diem. Seize God, Seize the Day.

This is where I am now. I don't have a solution for the mediocrity I see in many Christians today. But I am working on living simply, simply by faith. It is not always easy, but I am trying my utmost to live deliberately for Christ. I am seeking ways to use my gifts and talents to serve Christ. I am working on living by "carpe Deum," every single day.

When I die, I want to look back on my life and realize that I DID learn what God had to teach me, that I served and obeyed Him, and that I had truly lived for Him. Carpe Deum!