Advice to College Kids

Get Involved

I may not have always been great at this, in fact most of the time I was opposite of involved. After being super involved in high school I was ready for a break and I feel like there were things I missed out on in college. So go do stuff with people!

It's okay to say NO
While it's great to be involved, don't feel like you HAVE to do everything. It's okay to say no sometimes and watch a movie in your dorm. If you start saying yes to everything you'll be exhausted and nothing will get done. So pick and choose what you want to be a part of. Also, if any part of you thinks that something is dangerous or illegal, DON'T DO IT, because it probably is and at some point in your life you'll probably regret it.

Go to a friend's house for a holiday
Being from a different state I wasn't always able to go home for Thanksgiving or Easter. I think visiting another family for a holiday can teach you a lot about different family dynamics, about who you are, and what you appreciate about your own family and traditions.

Call your parents (and grandparents)
While you may be just fine, your mom might not. Or maybe you're a wreck and you don't want your dad to worry about you. Well guess what, your parents are definitely worried about you and many don't want to "intrude" on your new found independence at college. Call them anyway, even if its just for 5 minutes on your way to class. They'll appreciate it, and odds are, you'll feel better too. (Same goes for grandparents. They're not going to be around forever and once they're gone you'll regret not spending more time getting to know them.)

Take a random class
Learn about something new! My sophomore year I took one quarter of Greek. Do I remember any of it? Not really. Do I really need to know Ancient Greek? Probably not at all. But it was a good experience and now I can say, "Yeah one time I took Greek in college..."

And most importantly...

Be a good friend
This will look differently for everyone, but college is a great time to truly get to know people. And its the only time in your life when you will be living with your best friends. Be there for them. Love them. Pray for them. And most importantly be good to them, just like you would want them to be to you.

2008- my first roomie and one of
my best friends

Can I also just say I'm very thankful that we all grow up and don't stay 18 forever? Who thought those double braids were a good idea? yikes.

Happy back to school, college kids!

Careful what you wish for...

The last month or so I have been very ready for fall weather to arrive. I was ready to say goodbye to my shorts and flip flops to greet my boots and scarves with open arms. Last week people were still in capris, maybe wearing sandals, holding on to that last bit of summer-ish weather. And bam! I'm not sure what happened, but WINTER arrived this weekend. We skipped right over fall and went straight to COLD. Its been around 50 degrees, which is not crazy cold, but when it was 80 very recently that is a big change. I suppose I got what I wanted because I'm able to wear boots and a sweater, but it seemed like an awfully drastic change.

Isn't that how life is though? You look forward to something for a week, a month, maybe even a year, and then all of a sudden it's there. And you're left wondering wait, what just happened? Wasn't it just a week ago that I was doing this or that?

Today the new SPU students are moving into the residence halls across the street and I feel old being so far removed from that stage in life. It was 6 years ago that I moved into Emerson Hall and started my journey at Seattle Pacific. Now I'm an "adult," paying rent and going to work every day. (I put quotes around the word adult because I still don't quite feel like one...I'm waiting for the moment where I don't feel like I'm playing pretend being a grown up. Although a 4th grader told me I was too old to say "dude" last night and guessed that I was 30....)

Now my question is, what's next? What am I wishing for? What change is going to sneak up on me like this cold weather? What's my next step?

I'm so thankful for the different seasons of life, but they also terrify me. Unlike the weather changing or holidays arriving, I can't always prepare myself as well as I'd like to for those big life stages. Thankfully God is with me no matter where I go or what I do, and I should always lean on him in those circumstances. But I'm still learning how to do that. How can I not think about, worry, stress over, or just be scared of what the next step is?

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

Thankful for the seeds.

Ch-ch-ch-changes are happening and I am choosing to be thankful. I am not the first person to admit to liking change or even welcoming it without a fight, but I am learning {finally} that change is a part of life and I can't do much to stop it. The first change is that summer is coming to a close. Boo. However, that means there are lots of wonderful things about fall coming....pumpkin spice lattes, scarves, boots, beautiful leaves, scented candles, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and eventually Christmas! Many stores already have their Christmas things out for sale, and while I think it is a little early, it does make me excited for my favorite time of year.

Changes are happening at work. We've just graduated 13 (mostly) potty-trained kiddos to the next classroom and are getting 9 (not potty-trained) new ones on Wednesday. I am preparing myself for the work that is ahead, but I'm excited for a fresh start and new kiddos who are excited to learn more independence in my classroom.

Changes are happening at church (which is also sort of my work). We're starting a new year- kids in new classes, new schedules, new teachers, Wednesday night church, etc. I've actually been missing a lot of these things lately which means I know I'm ready to jump back in with both feet.

Changes are happening with my friends. Getting married, getting engaged, having babies. I am so happy to be a part of all these experiences with them and look forward to more of it happening in the next year.

Changes are happening with MY life. I've thought and prayed a lot about what my next step in life is. Where do I go? What do I do? I've told God, give me a direction and I will follow. This song by Sidewalk Prophets describes my life perfectly right now. Even if it scares me or worries me, I will trust that God is leading me. I'm preparing myself to leave Seattle next summer and move back to California and attend grad school. School? Work? Friends? Church? All of those things are up in the air, but I feel okay about it.

A few days ago I was reading Ann Voskamp and she was writing about how God has provided every plant and tree and fruit we would need, but it doesn't start out that way. Things start out small, like a seed. She prays, Lord, what would happen today if I saw all the not-enough, too-little in my life to be but a seed? All the hardly-things could be holy-things -- small somethings You are growing into more glory for You. Cause me to believe again: All feasts begin as a seed.

Wow. What if I saw my life this way also. All the small things that I think don't matter. All the frustrating moments where things don't go my way. My kiddos at work are these seeds. My plans for the future are still seeds. My life is merely but a seed at this point, growing into the feast that God has planned for me from the start. Today, I am thankful for the seeds.

Happiness.

Define happiness.

No really, try and define happiness in a way that would be completely accurate for everyone. I suppose it would have something to do with having pleasant feelings toward something or someone. Or maybe it is a positive experience instead of something more negative. But what is it that makes us happy? Are we more or less prone to be happy based on are circumstances? Are certain people inherently more happy than others?

Samuel Johnson says, "The business of the wise man is to be happy." Does this mean wise people are happy? Or are happy people wise?

Recently I have been reading the book The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, thus, my thoughts about happiness. The author conducts all this research about what makes people happy and how she can use that information to make herself happier in a 12-month experiment. (She admits that she's not really unhappy, it's more that she wants to truly appreciate life by being happy.) Each month she sets a goal for things that she wants to do- boost energy, lighten up, make time for friends, etc. and then keeps track of what she actually does and how it affects her happiness. I'm about halfway through this book and I'd recommend it!

All that to say, what makes me happy? Why am I a happy person? God has blessed me with a wonderful family, a job I love, great friends, and so much more. Would I be so happy if my situation was different? Am I more naturally inclined to look at the glass half-full or did I learn how to do that? Don't get me wrong, I definitely have my moments of sadness but generally I'd say I'm a rather happy person.

So what makes me happier or unhappier than the next person?
My head hurts from trying to figure happiness out.

Undeserving Love

After reading Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, a few years ago I have been trying to be much more intentional about finding things in my life that I am thankful for. To tell you the truth, its hard not to find things that I am thankful for! Once you start looking you realize that there is more to be thankful for than not and that life is really much better than we ever would deserve. Thank you Jesus for your blessings even when we fall short of deserving them.

At church today we watch an episode from this series called What's in the Bible? and it was all about King David and King Solomon (talk about some guys who really didn't deserve God's grace!). These are always tricky stories to teach to elementary school kids...What do you mean he had more than one wife? Why did he kill that man? Isn't David a man after God's own heart? Does that mean it's okay for us to do that stuff too? (Okay so maybe a kindergartner wouldn't ask some of those questions, but a 3rd or 4th grader? Absolutely.) I am always so impressed with this series because they don't gloss over anything and are still able to tell it in a kid appropriate way. For example, this episode talks about David committing adultery, which means he stole someone else's wife. And then to cover up that adultery he had someone killed, or committed murder. BUT they also explained that he repented, asked God to forgive him, and wanted a clean heart (Psalm 51). While God still loves us when we sin or make bad choices, that doesn't mean there won't be consequences. If we lie to our boss, God will still love us but we might lose our job. If we hurt a friend, God will still love us, but that person might not trust us to be their friend...etc.

What a great way to describe these stories in a kid-friendly way. Just because God will always forgive us and always love us doesn't mean it is okay to hurt someone or do something God told us not to. We must also suffer the consequences of our actions. In the end we talked about which king we would want to be like, David who repented? or Solomon who turned away from God?

Neither of these kings deserved God's love or mercy, just like we don't deserve it either. I can't even wrap my mind around these kinds of things. Why does God keep loving us crazy people who continually do stupid things? I am thankful for these examples of people who lived before us. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to repent when I make poor choices. And I am thankful that God is always there and is always faithful. Most of the time I'm not even able to describe what it means that God is faithful, but there is a peace about it, that I know everything will be okay. I know that I am not responsible for planning my future alone. I have the ultimate designer and creator guiding my future.

"You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 118:28-29

Up, Up, and Away

It doesn't matter how many times I fly across the country, it still amazes me that a giant aluminum object can carry 200+ people (and all their stuff) thousands of miles up into the sky. Something about flying also greatly increases my prayer life momentarily...even though I know it is more dangerous to drive in a car or ride a train or whatever the statistics say about accidents, flying in an airplane still worries me every so often. Especially when the plane starts making funny noises. I want to knock on the pilot's door and ask, "Is that supposed to be doing that??"

Friday night as my flight was leaving from Seattle I was praying for the pilot and flight crew (as per my usual pre-flight prayer) and what popped into my head? None other than the theme song from last summer's VBS.

"Up, up, and away we go,

Into the great beyond,

Wherever we go and whatever we do, 

We're trusting God all along."

Suddenly I was thinking that being a passenger on an airplane is somewhat like following God. I am trusting that the pilot and crew are trained to fly this huge thing and land it properly in my final destination. Shouldn't I also be trusting that God is directing my life in the way He sees fit? When I'm sitting in an airplane I can't see out the front window, I can hardly see the ground for most of the flight. If its a clear day maybe I'll get a glimpse of a mountain or the ocean and as the plane gets closer to the ground perhaps I'll start to recognize a few landmarks. When God is directing my life, its true that I can't see the whole picture, but I do get glimpses of what the future holds. And looking back I can see that I where I ended up is right where I should be.

Sometimes I'm frustrated that I can't see out the front window or that I don't understand why I'm experiencing such turbulence. I think that maybe if I was flying the plane I would be able to do a better job, when really I have none of the qualifications to do so. In the end I'm so thankful to not be in control of that plane.

No matter where I am, what people do, or how I feel.... trust God!

Thanks VBS, for still teaching me things as an adult.

Spilled Milk

Excerpt from Just a Minute by Wess Stafford....


A famous research scientist was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter, who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor -- a veritable sea of milk.

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?"

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which would you prefer?" He chose the sponge, and together they cleaned up the milk.

His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water so you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't work," we usually learn something valuable from it. (151-152)


What a powerful image of giving kids an opportunity to make mistakes and let them know that it's okay. I pray that I can remember this story when my kiddos make a huge mess or spill something. Instead of responding in anger, I hope that I can respond with patience and the kindness of this mother.

Even The Winter

Whenever I am feeling down or find all kinds of other music annoying, I can always listen to Audrey Assad and connect with the words that she is singing. I love her songs "Known" and "Sparrow" but recently I have been listening to "Even the Winter" a lot. Part of that has to do with the fact that I've gotten to that time of year where I'm ready for spring, but it's still going to be winter for a while longer.

Another part of it is that I feel like I am currently in a winter phase of life. There are a lot of good things about winter, but you don't want the winter to last forever. For example, things like snow and darkness are great because then you can put a fire in the fireplace and watch a movie snuggled up on the couch. But what about flip flops and going to the beach? I am in that strange in between phase of life- I've graduated from college, but am not sure exactly where the Lord will lead me in my life. Many of my friends have gotten married and/or moved away. My days are now filled with 3 year olds and my schedule is very much the same each day. No more classes, meetings, clubs, being surrounded by friends 24-7. 

There is an endless stream of questions running through my head at all times: Will I stay in Seattle forever? Will I move lots of times? How long will I keep my current job for? Should I be looking for a different job? Which church community is the best for me to be a part of? When will I get married? How old will I be when I become a mom? When is the next time I will be in California? On and on and on... Just a different phase of life, full of unknowns. This phase will not last forever, but, just like the winter, it seems at times like the spring will never come.

Even The Winter
What if we find ourselves beneath the snow?
Our warmest words all frozen in our throats?
And all we feel is left out in the cold?
You and I?

What if the days grow short and lose their light?
What if the coals burn black and the embers die?
And we can't find each other in the night?
You and I?

Well, even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning and we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Holding the seeds and soil of our love, of our love

What if the ice we tread is just too thin?
What if we can't escape the squall we're in?
What if our hearts of stone are permanent?
You and I
Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Sowing the seeds in the soil of our love, of our love

What if the spring comes soon and we're surprised?
What if the seasons help us realize, some things are only proven over time?
You know

Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Sowing the seeds in the soil
Of our love

Even the darkness cannot disarm us
We'll break up the earth, because we know
that it's worth it
Sowing the seeds in the soil of our love.

Humility.

In all sorts of different ways, I think that we can all use our own dose of humility every now and then. This afternoon I was reading a handful of passages leading me to see that humility is really what I [we] need in order to grow closer to God. If I am so set in myself, thinking that I am always right and know exactly what is going on- how in the world can I become truly intimate with my Lord and Savior? When Moses came into the presence of God he was told to take off his sandals because he was standing on Holy Ground. Just like Moses had to take his sandals off, we are required to take our pride off and stand humbly before our God.

It is an interesting idea when so many things in today's culture and society revolve around getting rewarded. Most people won't do something until they know what they are going to "get" out of it. Whether that is help someone move or go see a friend perform in a play. It's all what can I get from this, not how can I serve those around me and glorify God in all I do.

My prayer is that I would be someone who falls into that second category. This year I want to be someone who can give all the glory to God and not be disappointed when I don't get recognized here on earth, because I know my recognition will come later. and it will be better. MUCH better. :)

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9

Hello September. I AM ready.

Well, I guess you could say that summer is officially over for me. September has arrived and I will be leaving for school the day after tomorrow. Most of my things are packed up and piled in my room; I have made a to-do list of last minute things (ranging from sending emails to painting my toe nails- priorities, I know); I have said good-bye to most of my friends that are still left at home; I have absorbed as much sun as possible for a white girl like me; and I am ready to get this year started. That was a statement: I AM ready. Or am I?


This summer I have learned so much about who I am and who I want to be, but I am still searching for how to get those things and go to those places. I know that I love children and have such a heart for children's ministry, but do I want it to be my full-time job? This year will give me a good taste of what that will be like as I am interning at my church in Seattle. My inbox has been overwhelmed with emails the past week or so because there are a lot of changes going on at the church, especially with the family ministries. As I read each one I think "What have I gotten myself into?!" I have been praying lately that I would take things one step at a time and that God would show me what I need to know as it arrives. However, I am still nervous about it all.

Last night I was reading in a devotion book entitled "Father, I long for a heart that dances" by Catherine Martin. (If you know me you know that disciplining myself to have quiet time is something I always struggle with. I don't know why, but it is. Lately I have had more of a heart that, as this book says, longs to dance with the Lord.) Anyways I was reading about Moses and how in Exodus 3 he comes up with every excuse possible why God should pick someone else. All the while God is basically telling him, no I want YOU. End of discussion. It got me thinking, how many times do I think ohh God you got the wrong person for that job; I can't do that, I don't know how; I might mess up; People might think of me differently. (And the list could go on and on). Not that I am regretting my decision to intern by any means, but sometimes I wonder have I really bitten off more than I can chew? How I am I going to be able to do all the things that are required of me?


Reading about Moses last night, reassured me that I WILL be able to do all of these things because I have God lifting me up and giving me my strength. I am not doing anything nearly as scary or difficult as the things Moses went through, and he made it through just fine. Moses had the same gracious God supporting him that supports me today. So even though I may seem overwhelmed, in my heart I know that God has it all under control and will give me exactly what I need, when I need it. And I am so thankful to have a God like that.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

Learning.

Tonight I was able to hang out with one of my best friends, Sarah. We went and saw One Day (not a very good movie by the way), got some Del Taco for dinner, and headed back to her dorm to hang out for a bit. She is an R.A. this year and has a handful of residents who have moved in early. As the evening continued on five girls found their way to her room and it was so great to hang out with them. I am SO proud of her for being a freshman R.A. this year! She is going to be so awesome with those young women!!

I've been thinking a lot about the past three years at college, and every experience has made me who I am today, but sometimes I wonder who I would be if things had been different. If I would have taken more chances, been more outgoing, met more people, joined more clubs, gone on retreats, etc. etc. I didn't go into college with the attitude that I would meet my best friends or find a husband or even that I would want to live in Seattle forever. I thought I already had that all figured out and I would just be going to school, I would "survive" it and then move home as quickly as I could get it over with. Boy was I wrong. I have met some of the most amazing people and have had some of the best experiences of my life. And I know this is just a chapter, but instead of trying to "get thru it," I want to fully embrace the final year of my college experience.

The Lord is showing me more and more every day that the more I think I have things all figured out the LESS I have figured out. Hindsight is always 20-20 and no matter what anyone told me I wouldn't have changed anything, but my advice now to anyone just starting college would be to embrace it with both arms open. I was holding on so tightly to the past that I was afraid to accept the future. I was (and still am) scared of changes that happen. There is nothing I can do to avoid change, but it never really gets any easier for me. I know that God will take care of me and I believe wholeheartedly that he has a plan for my life, but sometimes its hard figuring out what that plan is exactly.

This year will determine a lot of things for me. Graduate school or no graduate school? Move home or stay in Seattle (or move somewhere else??)? Career in children's ministry or something else? Meet someone to marry or stay single for a while? There may only be a few things to determine, but they are all pretty life altering (and most of them lead to even more questions). The only thing I can do is continue to pray for guidance and peace in each decision I make. I suppose you could say I'm still learning how to live.

Anyone left out there not engaged or married?

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone in the world is getting engaged or married?....okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I know more than a dozen people who have recently gotten engaged and another handful that have gotten married. It's funny to think of this huge life change happening to so many people I know, when I am thinking I am nowhere near ready for this step!

Since marriage has been on my mind I decided to write one of my mid-term papers about what Paul has to say about marriage in the New Testament. I put it off as long as possible, as per usual, and once I started writing I actually learned a lot more than I was expecting. One of the things that really stood out in this paper was found in Ephesians 5:21-33

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

I chose this passage as one to focus on because I know it is often used in a negative way for women. Men will use it against their wife telling them they have to submit because it is Biblical.....Well, let's look at this for just a moment. The word that Paul uses in the original Greek for submit is hupotassomai which means something more like "give allegiance to," "tend to the needs of," "be supportive of," or "be responsive to." Not exactly the way we think of submit is it? I would venture as far to say that the word submit in our society could be tied to something you would command of a slave. NOT what God wants wives to be. Wives are not slaves to their husbands. [I'm really not a feminist, I promise]

Now that we have that part down, we can look at what the role is for a man. Paul gives more direction to the husband than the wife, as we can see with the length of the second part of the passage. We may think that the man gets a very different command (love), but actually it is very similar. The Greek word Paul uses for love is agapao, which is a self-sacrificing love not based on emotion. However, I think we can all see how this can get confusing in English because we only have one word for love and we use it to mean a myriad of different things.

"Agapao is almost identical with hupotassomai. Both involve giving up one's self-interest to serve and care for another's. Both mean being responsive to the needs of the other. And both are commended to all Christians, as well as to husbands and wives."

John Bristow What Paul Really Said About Women

The first sentence of this passage is telling us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, with no specifications for men or women, married or unmarried. (Many translations even separate this sentence from the discourse on husbands and wives). BUT before we can even take on this role of husband or wife we must be willing to submit to (give allegiance to, respect, tend to the needs of, support) one another. We all have a role to play and no one role is better than another. It breaks my heart to see or hear of women being taken advantage of in any way by their husband, but to use scripture against them? really? I feel like every couple entering marriage should seriously look at what their roles are and what it means to hupotassomai and agapao one another. To me, knowing these things reinforces the fact that marriage is not just something you do because everyone else is doing it, or because you have nothing else to do and figure why not?...it is a COMMITMENT!



Sometimes less is more



Such a blessing to live in a beautiful city like Seattle. Thank you, Jesus, for the sunshine poking through the clouds today :)

Two weeks down, eight (plus finals) weeks to go. Is it too early for a countdown to summer? Having the sun out today has made me want to wear shorts and flip flops even more now. I do love Seattle, but I am excited to be home and warm for the summer. Unfortunately though, warm in southern California [in July and August] is sometimes a little TOO warm. Thinking about the summer so much has started to make me think about what it means to live a balanced life. How do we live in the moment every day while still planning ahead for the future? I have been thinking about where I'm going to live next year, who I will be living with, getting a summer job, registering for fall classes, visiting friends, going to weddings, and so much more.

God has been challenging me to live life fully right where I am each day. To be thankful for the both the small and big blessings he so graciously allows me to experience. How can I be the best student, daughter, friend, teacher, girlfriend, babysitter, roommate, volunteer, and servant? What are the little things I can do to make a difference in the life of someone, even someone I've never met before.

This Sunday at church the pastor spoke about how sometimes fewer words are better than many words. One of the examples he used was a stop sign. One word. Stop. No explanation. Just stop. Sometimes are prayers become a lengthy explanation of things going on and you don't always need to use all those words. Sometimes we are called to get back to the basics. Asking God to have mercy on us can be a prayer used for just about every situation. Being in a state of constant prayer doesn't always require as many words either. We can just say someones name or think about a situation we want to offer up to God. It was a refreshing way of looking at things, thinking that God wants us to be real and sincere in how we converse with him. AND if we are always going on and on talking it gives us very little time to listen to what he is saying in return.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

Psalm 51:10-12 [RSV]

Power of Metaphor

In my Human Development and Christian Faith class we have been reading excerpts from a book by Donald Miller called Blue Like Jazz. The assignment for today was on the chapters regarding love and friendship and there has been one part stuck in my head all day. I know it's a little long, but it's worth reading.

          "It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.
          My realization came while attending an alumni social for Westmont College. I had never attended Westmont, but my friend Michelle did, and she invited me. Greg Spencer, a communications professor, was to speak, and Michelle thought I might enjoy the lecture. I did. More than I can say. The lecture was about the power of metaphor. Spencer opened by asking us what metaphors we think of when we consider the topic of cancer. We gave him our answers, all pretty much the same, we battle cancer, we fight cancer, we are rebuilding our white blood cells, things like that. Spencer pointed out that the overwhelming majority of metaphors we listed were war metaphors. They dealt with battle. He then proceeded to talk about cancer patients and how, because of war metaphor, many people who suffer with cancer feel more burdened than, in fact, they should. Most of them are frightened beyond their need to be frightened, and this affects their health. Some, feeling that they have been thrust into a deadly war, simply give up. If there were another metaphor, a metaphor more accurate, perhaps cancer would not prove so deadly.
          Science has shown that the way people think about cancer affects their ability to deal with the disease, thus affecting their overall health. Professor Spencer said that if he were to sit down with his family and tell them he had cancer they would be shocked, concerned, perhaps even in tears, and yet cancer is nothing near the most deadly of diseases. Because of war metaphor, the professor said, we are more likely to fear cancer when, actually, most people survive the disease. [side note: I'm not so sure where he got his data on this one, but that's beside the point]
          Mr. Spencer then asked us about another area in which he felt metaphors cause trouble. He asked us to consider relationships. What metaphors do we use when we think of relationships? We value people, I shouted out. Yes, he said, and wrote it on his little white board. We invest in people, another person added. And soon enough we had listed an entire white board of economic metaphor. Relationships could be bankrupt, we said. People are priceless, we said. All economic metaphor. I was taken aback.
          And that's when it hit me like so much epiphany getting dislodged from my arteries. The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money. Professor Spencer was right, and not only was he right, I felt as though he had cured me, as though he had let me out of my cage. I could see it very clearly. If somebody is doing something for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they have value, we feel they are worth something to us, and perhaps, we feel they are priceless. I could see it so clearly, and I could feel it in the pages of my life. This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. The church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did."

I have never thought about love in this way, but we use money terms all the time! We spend time with people. Friendships are priceless. We value time with people. We are using terms of commodity to explain something that can't be measured. I know I am supposed to love unconditionally, but how many people out there bug or irritate me? Do I love them even when it is difficult to like them? We cannot love someone unless we first like them. The whole, "I love you, but I don't have to like you" thing doesn't really work for me. How do you love someone the way God wants you to love them without liking them too? I may be wrong in this thinking, but I feel that it's important to at least consider what these terms look like. What does love look like? What does God say about love?

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:7-11

Praise the LORD

My life lately has been focused around a huge project for my curriculum class... I'm writing a 4-week Sunday School curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students. It is currently around 60 pages and still has a weekend's worth of work to go. Truth be told, I am LOVING putting this thing together. We were instructed to write about Psalm 117...
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
   extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
   and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
   Praise the LORD.
I don't know how many hundred times I have read this verse, but I will forever be learning what it means. What does it mean to praise the LORD? What does it mean that praise has been commanded of ALL people? What does it mean that God loves us? Why does God love us? How is God faithful to us? Why does God continue to be faithful to us when we are so unfaithful to him? These are just some of the questions I have attempted to answer in my curriculum lessons (in a way that 5-6 year olds can understand...) As I have been focusing so much on how children understand these things, I realize that I have been learning all of these things too. How do I REALLY bring praise to God? Am I glorifying God every day? The more I study the more I question how I live my life every day. How do I practically apply the things that I learn in class, chapel, church, or devotions to real life? As I struggle with all of these things I look back to the second part of the verse and am reminded that no matter what, God is LOVING and FAITHFUL. He is my all in all through every up and every down. How undeserving I am of a God who is loving and faithful forever and ever.
All these thoughts, and I still have a project to get done. I've been working on it constantly for over a week so now I just have "finishing" details, but anyone that knows me knows that the details will take me all weekend to finish! :)