I had an interesting experience yesterday. For one of my classes, a portion of my grade is based upon my organization and upkeep of a 3-ring binder that contains all of the class material for the semester. Our grade on it is dependent on the quality of our personal notes and how meticulous we are in our filing. Well, I sit down to organize my notebook with all the handouts and notes I have from the first week of classes. I looked proudly at my creation and started flipping through the syllabus to see what I needed to read and write for Tuesday. Lo and behold, what do I find? A page in the syllabus informing me of exactly how to tabulate my notebook. I had done it all wrong. Of course, I get a "little" frustrated. I mean, I thought that I was a detailed person, but I've got nothing on this professor.
So, David calls. I vent. Call the class stupid. Kick around my stupid binder for a while. Go write a paper. And then come back to that darn binder. As I re-labeled everything and re-filed all my papers, God did something quite unexpected. God began to fill me with an excitement about the class....and even the stupid binder! He reminded me that even my "stupid class" is an opportunity to worship Him and that He has a lot to teach me. So ironically, I actually am excited about the class and having this notebook which probably will turn out to be a great resource.
Oddly enough, compiling that notebook yesterday was a spiritual boost. It was a reminder to me of the many blessings in my life- the least of them not being the fact that I am privileged to receive an education. I'm very content with life right now. At the end of the day, I know Who loves me most, who loves me the "next most" =), and who my friends are. Life is good. God is better!
In His Mercy.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Reflection in the Cross
Wednesday nights for me are spent at church with the kids. And I love it. It seems that God really teaches me a lot through my work with the kids. Kids' simplicity can be so profound!
This past wednesday night, one of the little boys, whose probably about 7, was hanging around band practice- his mom was the drummer this week. He walks over to the gold cross on the altar and is looking into it. The worship leader says, "look, you can see your face in the cross." This little boy keeps looking and simply smiles. It made me stop and think. We should all see our reflection in the cross. When I look at the cross, I first off see my sin. I see my brokenness and the sin i my life that lead for the need of the cross. Then I see, second of all, Jesus' broken and bloodied body hanging there, as a penalty for my sin. But lastly, and most importantly, I see the redemption and hope that Jesus offers through His atonement. And to me that is just amazing. As this 7-year-old made me realize, we are all reflected in the cross. God's goodness, grace, mercy, and faithfulness shines through that brokenness hanging there on that old, rugged cross. What an awesome truth!
In other news, I just had a great worship time cleaning our kitchen here in the apartment! I turned on some old Crowder Band, turned it up, and scrubbed my little heart out, tearing as I realized just how deeply I am in need of Jesus. I also learned in this moment that I truly am my mother's daughter=)
In His Mercy.
This past wednesday night, one of the little boys, whose probably about 7, was hanging around band practice- his mom was the drummer this week. He walks over to the gold cross on the altar and is looking into it. The worship leader says, "look, you can see your face in the cross." This little boy keeps looking and simply smiles. It made me stop and think. We should all see our reflection in the cross. When I look at the cross, I first off see my sin. I see my brokenness and the sin i my life that lead for the need of the cross. Then I see, second of all, Jesus' broken and bloodied body hanging there, as a penalty for my sin. But lastly, and most importantly, I see the redemption and hope that Jesus offers through His atonement. And to me that is just amazing. As this 7-year-old made me realize, we are all reflected in the cross. God's goodness, grace, mercy, and faithfulness shines through that brokenness hanging there on that old, rugged cross. What an awesome truth!
In other news, I just had a great worship time cleaning our kitchen here in the apartment! I turned on some old Crowder Band, turned it up, and scrubbed my little heart out, tearing as I realized just how deeply I am in need of Jesus. I also learned in this moment that I truly am my mother's daughter=)
In His Mercy.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Monday through Saturday
I haven't updated for a while. January was a whirlwind of a month. I had my 3-day class from the 7th to the 9th. After taking the exam and writing my paper, I went down to Georgia to be with my fiance for two whole weeks=) The crazy thing is that in the 9 1/2 months we've been together, we have never spent that much time together. It was such a blessing. Now I'm back in Kentucky dealing with coming down from the mountain.
Sunday at church, Aaron shared a comment that Maggie had made about how Sunday is not the most important day for her spiritually. This has been rolling around my head for the past couple of days. It makes sense. We as a Christian society tend to put Sunday up on a pedestal and exalt it above any other day. The fact is, there are 6 other days in the week. It is easy to be a Sunday Christian; it is much harder to be a Monday-Saturday Christian. That's when our faith is really put to the test. Do we worship God in our schoolwork? Our meetings? Our conflicts? Our relationships? In all the ordinary things in life? What do we do when we are faced with the opportunity to share Christ's love? Or to serve the poor and marginalized? Or do we avoid these situations at all costs? Sunday, spiritually speaking, is the easiest day of the week. Monday through Saturday are much harder.
At graduation 2006 here at Asbury, one of the speakers said to always question the easy road. Maybe it's about time we started questioning the ease of Sundays....
In His Mercy.
Sunday at church, Aaron shared a comment that Maggie had made about how Sunday is not the most important day for her spiritually. This has been rolling around my head for the past couple of days. It makes sense. We as a Christian society tend to put Sunday up on a pedestal and exalt it above any other day. The fact is, there are 6 other days in the week. It is easy to be a Sunday Christian; it is much harder to be a Monday-Saturday Christian. That's when our faith is really put to the test. Do we worship God in our schoolwork? Our meetings? Our conflicts? Our relationships? In all the ordinary things in life? What do we do when we are faced with the opportunity to share Christ's love? Or to serve the poor and marginalized? Or do we avoid these situations at all costs? Sunday, spiritually speaking, is the easiest day of the week. Monday through Saturday are much harder.
At graduation 2006 here at Asbury, one of the speakers said to always question the easy road. Maybe it's about time we started questioning the ease of Sundays....
In His Mercy.
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