These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! The last week of school was canceled, following the touch down of some twenty tornadoes in the Chattanooga area. Thankfully, none touched down on campus, but they did damage to the water company that cut off our water supply. So, let out a week early, we were not sure what to think! I certainly was not unhappy to miss out on exams, but it was an abrupt goodbye. We were given twenty four hours to evacuate, and as RA I spent a lot of that trying to help get other people out. What a mess! Then, just as I was leaving, my car check engine light came on. Since it was the weekend, I could not get my car fixed. Josh and I hoped to be at his brother's play the next afternoon in Augusta, so I had to leave my car at my dear friend Cathy's house.
The weeks that ensued were wonderful. We started out by visiting Josh's family for a few days. After that, we traveled to Marietta where we spent several days hanging out with some of our closest friends. Then, we went back to Chattanooga to get my car fixed. (Praise God, it was not too expensive!) After that, it was back to Josh's house. Three days later, we were on the road to Florida for a wedding I was in. It was beautiful! Yesterday, I flew into Wisconsin for a two week visit before my summer job begins in Florida.
It was fun to jump around and see so many people. We were blessed with generous hospitality everywhere we went. However, it is so great to be home, where I can take a nap and have my own space. Of course, I am being dramatic to call myself a "weary traveler," because these were great weeks of fun. However, I am in need of some good rest!
Praise our God who is ever faithful! Please continue to pray that He will work in my heart and shape me to be more like our Jesus!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Hebrews 13 Life
I have been thinking a lot about personal mission statements lately, thanks to the helpful (though repetitive) Dan Allender and his book To Be Told. I am only half way through the book, but one of the ideas in it is that you have to read your past in order to write your future. He is not advocating that we have complete control over our destiny, but instead that we should take some responsibility in the direction of our life, a "co-authorship" with God.
Along with these concepts, Allender presents the idea of a life mission statement constructed based on the themes God has woven into our past and present. While hearing about this from Allender, I was also talking about school mission statements in one of my classes. I have come to the (temporary) conclusion that I would like to write a personal mission statement, but also that I would like to consider the mission statement as something fluid that will change to some degree with the seasons of life.
In my reading of late, in Hebrews, I was struck by the content of Hebrews 13 and how it has some great principles to weave into a personal mission statement. I thought I might share it with you all to think about as well. My gathered "concepts" will be written in bold type, and are not part of the Scripture.
1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.
Love (and show love to) your fellow believers intentionally and unconditionally.
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Practice hospitality to the extreme; don't limit your house guests to family and friends.
3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Hold the persecuted church in your heart--and as you can, do something to help. At the same time, lament the suffering of all, around the world.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Remember that marriage is sacred; it represents Christ and the church and is to be treated with care.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”[a] 6 So we say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]
Be content with what you have, because what you have is the greatest gift of all: the presence of the Most High dwelling inside of you. Do not let yourself get too caught up in the pleasures of this world.
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Seek out and learn from mentors. Make sure those mentors are clearly emulating Jesus Christ, that he is the constant.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.
Know your Bible and what you believe. Hold on like crazy to grace.
10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Remember that we are a people set apart, but that the only reason we are different from any other is the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise Jesus who suffered and died for us! We will, as aliens, be treated as aliens--and so we remember who we are.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Confess Him! At every corner! In every conversation that provide opportunity, tell of His goodness!
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Love in action, for the purpose of pleasing your Lord.
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Obey authority out of respect for God.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
Pray for missionaries and ministry workers--for spiritual, physical, and emotional needs.
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We can confidently attempt to live a life like this because God will equip us to do it! We are operating out of grace, through Jesus Christ, so we are free to try and fail! We can tackle anything now, without fear.
AMEN.
I want to live something like that, and I aim to try.
Along with these concepts, Allender presents the idea of a life mission statement constructed based on the themes God has woven into our past and present. While hearing about this from Allender, I was also talking about school mission statements in one of my classes. I have come to the (temporary) conclusion that I would like to write a personal mission statement, but also that I would like to consider the mission statement as something fluid that will change to some degree with the seasons of life.
In my reading of late, in Hebrews, I was struck by the content of Hebrews 13 and how it has some great principles to weave into a personal mission statement. I thought I might share it with you all to think about as well. My gathered "concepts" will be written in bold type, and are not part of the Scripture.
1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.
Love (and show love to) your fellow believers intentionally and unconditionally.
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Practice hospitality to the extreme; don't limit your house guests to family and friends.
3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Hold the persecuted church in your heart--and as you can, do something to help. At the same time, lament the suffering of all, around the world.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Remember that marriage is sacred; it represents Christ and the church and is to be treated with care.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”[a] 6 So we say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]
Be content with what you have, because what you have is the greatest gift of all: the presence of the Most High dwelling inside of you. Do not let yourself get too caught up in the pleasures of this world.
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Seek out and learn from mentors. Make sure those mentors are clearly emulating Jesus Christ, that he is the constant.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.
Know your Bible and what you believe. Hold on like crazy to grace.
10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Remember that we are a people set apart, but that the only reason we are different from any other is the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise Jesus who suffered and died for us! We will, as aliens, be treated as aliens--and so we remember who we are.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Confess Him! At every corner! In every conversation that provide opportunity, tell of His goodness!
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Love in action, for the purpose of pleasing your Lord.
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Obey authority out of respect for God.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
Pray for missionaries and ministry workers--for spiritual, physical, and emotional needs.
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We can confidently attempt to live a life like this because God will equip us to do it! We are operating out of grace, through Jesus Christ, so we are free to try and fail! We can tackle anything now, without fear.
AMEN.
I want to live something like that, and I aim to try.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Gospel
We had an awesome speaker in chapel the other day. I was not sure, to be honest, what to think of him when he first started talking. When he walked up to the pulpit in trendy jeans and a v-neck black button up, I was not sure what to expect. Trendy pastors can be passionate preachers, but they can also be fluff preachers-- in my limited experience, at least. This, however, was no fluff preacher.
During my summer in Mexico, I had spent time reading and discussing Jerry Bridge's The Disciplines of Grace. One of the big themes in that book is that on some level we believe our good behavior is necessary to keep God's favor, but that is SO wrong. God relates to us on the basis of Jesus--all the time! This speaker reiterated these themes as well as brought up an interesting idea, "Christian growth doesn't happen by behaving better, but by believing better." He presented this concept, stolen from Tim Keller, of "blessed self-forgetfulness." The idea is that sometimes we get to caught up in looking at ourselves and trying to be holy, instead of looking to Jesus and seeing grace. The problem is, if we focus too much on ourselves and perfecting ourselves, Christianity can become a new form of self-improvement instead of a radical Jesus-driven life. AMEN! Yes, I want to be introspective and to put off the old self and put on the new self. But YES, I need to look more at Jesus and less at me. How do we balance this perspective with the call to action so clearly in the Bible? It's all about focus. After all, if I am constantly focused on the Gospel, it only makes sense that holiness will spill out, right?
An interesting thought to leave you with:
"The only people that actually get better are the people who increasingly understand that their relationship with God doesn't depend on getting better."
Abba, help me focus on Jesus and revel in grace!
During my summer in Mexico, I had spent time reading and discussing Jerry Bridge's The Disciplines of Grace. One of the big themes in that book is that on some level we believe our good behavior is necessary to keep God's favor, but that is SO wrong. God relates to us on the basis of Jesus--all the time! This speaker reiterated these themes as well as brought up an interesting idea, "Christian growth doesn't happen by behaving better, but by believing better." He presented this concept, stolen from Tim Keller, of "blessed self-forgetfulness." The idea is that sometimes we get to caught up in looking at ourselves and trying to be holy, instead of looking to Jesus and seeing grace. The problem is, if we focus too much on ourselves and perfecting ourselves, Christianity can become a new form of self-improvement instead of a radical Jesus-driven life. AMEN! Yes, I want to be introspective and to put off the old self and put on the new self. But YES, I need to look more at Jesus and less at me. How do we balance this perspective with the call to action so clearly in the Bible? It's all about focus. After all, if I am constantly focused on the Gospel, it only makes sense that holiness will spill out, right?
An interesting thought to leave you with:
"The only people that actually get better are the people who increasingly understand that their relationship with God doesn't depend on getting better."
Abba, help me focus on Jesus and revel in grace!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Update
Whewwww! Man, life is busy. God is good! I really do not even know how to summarize the past few weeks. I am afraid this may a bit disjointed!
Of late, life has been full of tests, projects, planning, and more. Of course, I've fit some good fun in the mix as well. My birthday was marvelous, I felt so loved and uplifted. The best part of it is that overall I felt encouraged that the SPIRIT is doing things through me, instead of feeling that I was something else. GOD IS WORKING! Praise Him! I was reflecting on how much I have changed and grown in the past year, and it is quite extensive. I am most certain that I am being inhabited by a powerful God. Ha, of course, that is not to say my "old self" does not rear its ugly head on frequent occasion. It does. Yet, I know the Spirit walks with me.
For those of you who pray for me, please continue to pray for meekness and humility, for a grace-embracing-and-endowing lifestyle, and for diligence! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Looking up,
April
Of late, life has been full of tests, projects, planning, and more. Of course, I've fit some good fun in the mix as well. My birthday was marvelous, I felt so loved and uplifted. The best part of it is that overall I felt encouraged that the SPIRIT is doing things through me, instead of feeling that I was something else. GOD IS WORKING! Praise Him! I was reflecting on how much I have changed and grown in the past year, and it is quite extensive. I am most certain that I am being inhabited by a powerful God. Ha, of course, that is not to say my "old self" does not rear its ugly head on frequent occasion. It does. Yet, I know the Spirit walks with me.
For those of you who pray for me, please continue to pray for meekness and humility, for a grace-embracing-and-endowing lifestyle, and for diligence! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Looking up,
April
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunshine State?
Well Day 1 in Florida is completed. While we were disappointed to be greeted with clouds and cold winds at the beach, we still had a marvelous day.
My old roommate, Bethany, and her parents are kindly letting Laura, Bethany Daniels, and me stay at their place--so we have a delightful, inexpensive spring break. Today, we went to Sunday School, church, and a potluck followed by volleyball on the beach and then Bible study. Last but not least, I played Scrabble with Bethany's little (but over 6') brother, Caleb. It has been an enjoyable day.
I really enjoyed seeing Bethany's church--great teaching, sweet people. The Lord brought me a lot of encouragement through different teaching sessions today. One of the big ideas from the sermon: trusting that God will keep his promises. He will! Praise Him!
Well anyway, it's bedtime for April. I hope to get up at a decent hour tomorrow and get to work on a paper. No rest for the weary. Hehe. Seriously, though, it will be a wonderful break.
My old roommate, Bethany, and her parents are kindly letting Laura, Bethany Daniels, and me stay at their place--so we have a delightful, inexpensive spring break. Today, we went to Sunday School, church, and a potluck followed by volleyball on the beach and then Bible study. Last but not least, I played Scrabble with Bethany's little (but over 6') brother, Caleb. It has been an enjoyable day.
I really enjoyed seeing Bethany's church--great teaching, sweet people. The Lord brought me a lot of encouragement through different teaching sessions today. One of the big ideas from the sermon: trusting that God will keep his promises. He will! Praise Him!
Well anyway, it's bedtime for April. I hope to get up at a decent hour tomorrow and get to work on a paper. No rest for the weary. Hehe. Seriously, though, it will be a wonderful break.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
An Education
Last night, we watched "An Education," a newer film. Perhaps you haven't even heard of it. It hasn't been much publicized. The story, in short, is about a sixteen year old girl that gets involved with a much older guy. She falls in love with him (or maybe the party life of jazz concerts, trips to Paris, and pretty art.) The man is a con artist, and even when she finds out, he convinces her to stay with him--and he uses his con skills to reel in her parents. Maybe an hour into the movie, we find him telling his friend "she is the one" and asking her to marry him. Everyone is quite happy, and her parents even tell her to forsake her dreams of Oxford and marry him. She drops out of school, missing her last exams, and sets her life on course to marry this man. Sadly, she soon finds out he is currently married. It all blows up in her face, and she finds out she is not the first woman to have this promise. There is a good ending, which I appreciate, where she does find a way to take her exams and go to Oxford... but the movie left me sad.
It was so heavy. Why was it? Because an older man preyed on a naive younger girl? No. He was wrong, but he did have real feelings for her. Was it heavy because she gave away her future without knowing what she was doing, mirroring many youth today? No. It was heavy because there was no Jesus. All the parties, flowers, and concerts in the world-- all the charming men and fun friends-- they leave the world still largely bleak and heavy. We need Jesus!
The movie attempts to give another option for happiness. The girl visits her old English teacher in desperation at the end, finding her home bright, cheery and cozy-- with a few pieces of good art and a piano. The girl concludes that this is really what everyone needs: a nice, small space of their own.
I don't buy it.
It's Jesus.
It was so heavy. Why was it? Because an older man preyed on a naive younger girl? No. He was wrong, but he did have real feelings for her. Was it heavy because she gave away her future without knowing what she was doing, mirroring many youth today? No. It was heavy because there was no Jesus. All the parties, flowers, and concerts in the world-- all the charming men and fun friends-- they leave the world still largely bleak and heavy. We need Jesus!
The movie attempts to give another option for happiness. The girl visits her old English teacher in desperation at the end, finding her home bright, cheery and cozy-- with a few pieces of good art and a piano. The girl concludes that this is really what everyone needs: a nice, small space of their own.
I don't buy it.
It's Jesus.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Worship
In Colossians 3:17, we are told, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
The question: what does it mean to do everything in the name of Jesus. Josh picked my up from a babysitting job tonight, and as we drove back, I wondered:
Does "worship" always have to be a conscious, intellectual process? Or can I still be worshiping God when I am caught up in the bliss of making music? If my heart were first captive to Jesus, if my identity were to lie in him, if my life ambitions were grounded in him... and I got caught up in bliss... without an intentional, mental focus on Jesus... could it still be worship?
It would seem that it must be possible... because to both be thinking about Jesus and doing math equations in your head at the same time is impossible. There is no way to add two plus two but at the same moment be thinking about Jesus. It is possible to have thoughts of him mixed in between questions... but is that what worship is supposed to look like? Not to be irreverent, but let's think about this: Two plus two is four. Wow, it's awesome that God made the world so logical. Four plus four is eight. Man, I am so thankful that God is orderly.... That just seems impractical and ridiculous.
So. What is it? Where is the thing that turns a normal act into worship? Is it the motives? If I am learning math to learn how to better serve Jesus, it stands to reason that it would be worship. But it still leaves the question, is simply having Jesus-focused overarching motives doing everything in the name of Jesus? It is clearly not possible to have our sights 100% on Jesus in the middle of everything.
Perhaps you think I am over thinking.
Think again.
Example: Josh and I took my friend Cathy's two little boys bowling. I realized, an hour into bowling, that I had not once thought about Jesus in that hour. I had been focused on getting the boys to enjoy themselves and enjoy our company. While that is important... not thinking about Jesus once in a whole hour is pretty sad, no matter what my motives are. Ultimately, I should not want to just "make them happy," but I should want to draw them closer to Jesus.
Well, bedtime. The wheels keep turning. Maybe the answers will all come to me in a dream :P
The question: what does it mean to do everything in the name of Jesus. Josh picked my up from a babysitting job tonight, and as we drove back, I wondered:
Does "worship" always have to be a conscious, intellectual process? Or can I still be worshiping God when I am caught up in the bliss of making music? If my heart were first captive to Jesus, if my identity were to lie in him, if my life ambitions were grounded in him... and I got caught up in bliss... without an intentional, mental focus on Jesus... could it still be worship?
It would seem that it must be possible... because to both be thinking about Jesus and doing math equations in your head at the same time is impossible. There is no way to add two plus two but at the same moment be thinking about Jesus. It is possible to have thoughts of him mixed in between questions... but is that what worship is supposed to look like? Not to be irreverent, but let's think about this: Two plus two is four. Wow, it's awesome that God made the world so logical. Four plus four is eight. Man, I am so thankful that God is orderly.... That just seems impractical and ridiculous.
So. What is it? Where is the thing that turns a normal act into worship? Is it the motives? If I am learning math to learn how to better serve Jesus, it stands to reason that it would be worship. But it still leaves the question, is simply having Jesus-focused overarching motives doing everything in the name of Jesus? It is clearly not possible to have our sights 100% on Jesus in the middle of everything.
Perhaps you think I am over thinking.
Think again.
Example: Josh and I took my friend Cathy's two little boys bowling. I realized, an hour into bowling, that I had not once thought about Jesus in that hour. I had been focused on getting the boys to enjoy themselves and enjoy our company. While that is important... not thinking about Jesus once in a whole hour is pretty sad, no matter what my motives are. Ultimately, I should not want to just "make them happy," but I should want to draw them closer to Jesus.
Well, bedtime. The wheels keep turning. Maybe the answers will all come to me in a dream :P
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