Just a small thought as I sit here in the Corum, enjoying the supreme comfort of the coveted corner couch up by the pool tables and the beautiful sunshine outside. :-)
I was driving to campus this morning (side note: in retrospect, I have no idea why I drove on such a gorgeous day....habit, I suppose) and my white cord bracelet I am wearing caught my eye. For those of you who don't know, International Justice Mission passed out these bracelets for people to wear as a reminder to pray for the 27 million people currently enslaved around the world. So I said a quick prayer for those enslaved and an image came to mind. As I was driving with the sun beaming in and the windows down, the cool air flowing through my car, I realized that this is what freedom feels like.
My freedom in Christ is so absolutely wonderful, like driving with the windows down on a beautiful day (only better! haha) But I liken the feeling of being chained to sin like having to drive on a nasty winter day. The snow is coming down so hard you can barely see and the wind is blowing below zero, and you try to open your car but the doors are iced shut. You finally manage to make it into your car, covered in snow, and you start your car. You're late so you don't have time to let it warm up. This picture of yourself: soaking wet, shivering and miserable, so cold that you are in pain, and sluggishly driving through hazardous conditions, this is the life of a sinner.
In stark contrast, the liberation from this dank, freezing, prison of an image is the day like today when you can drive easily, the breeze blowing in your hair and the sun warm on your skin. The carefree feeling that, yes, you do have things to get done, but the knowledge that those things don't really matter as much as the freedom you feel right then. That is like a life free in Christ. Yes, we are called to do things, often scary things. And we likely can't just stop living and call a time-out so we can solely experience Christ's freedom. But we can prioritize, and realize that all the stuff on our to-do lists is minor. The focus and the purpose of that moment, the overriding feeling all day long (and all life long) is the freedom from sin that Christ has given us and the broken chains we have to show for it.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Midterms Week
Not too much time to write tonight as I'm trying to get a lot of stuff done this week so I have a somewhat manageable amount of work over spring break.
I do have two photos to share, though.
The first is from a night last week when we had a very heavy rainstorm. I donned my galoshes and Nancy and I went out in the rain. We jumped in all the puddles and got totally soaked, and it was some of the most fun I've had in a long time. The second photo is from an excursion to Meijer tonight. I laughed so hard when I saw this sign that I absolutely had to snap an illegal photo of it. Apparently, you really CAN get everything at Meijer! hahahaha
Monday, February 23, 2009
Late-night headache
Up late tonight studying for ed. psych. quiz/test tomorrow. My brain hurts. My workload is manageable this week, but for some reason I feel overwhelmed by one of my assignments. I also am slightly dreading Wednesday, when I am literally going nonstop from 10 am to 7 pm. I think it's funny that a 10-7 stretch is a dreadfully long time to me now....back in high school it was more like 6 am to 10 pm, and I functioned just fine. Over the past few years I've just developed this expectation of having at least a little downtime in the middle of the day....but I suppose that's going to have to change drastically once I get a job! :-)
My friend Mark just dropped me off some buffalo wings from BDubs. They smell delicious and they are going promptly into the fridge so I may enjoy them tomorrow!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE buffalo wings. It's quite tragic that my absolute favorite foods can't be salad and celery...nope, in stark contrast my favorite foods include buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, oreos, dill pickles, macaroni and cheese, and Qdoba burritos. And therein lies the challenge. :-) But alas, my bed is calling. Though I didn't have much to say tonight it felt good to write. It's a nice therapy to blog before I go to bed. :-) So until next time, I bid you adieu!
My friend Mark just dropped me off some buffalo wings from BDubs. They smell delicious and they are going promptly into the fridge so I may enjoy them tomorrow!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE buffalo wings. It's quite tragic that my absolute favorite foods can't be salad and celery...nope, in stark contrast my favorite foods include buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, oreos, dill pickles, macaroni and cheese, and Qdoba burritos. And therein lies the challenge. :-) But alas, my bed is calling. Though I didn't have much to say tonight it felt good to write. It's a nice therapy to blog before I go to bed. :-) So until next time, I bid you adieu!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Quitters
I just got back from watching "He's Just Not That Into You" at the movie theater. If you haven't already seen it, please don't waste your money. It wasn't that it was horrible. It had many great actors and actresses in it. The filming was pretty good, too. But there were several parts of the storyline that just made me angry.
The movie follows the stories of several couples and the different types of relationships they're in. One couple in particular is married, but the husband makes a series of choices that lead him into an affair. When he admits it to his wife, she wants to try and salvage the marriage, and he agrees. Yet he continues to cheat on her as if nothing had happened. When she finally gets fed up with the lies, she files for divorce.
My generation is facing a dire situation. We are the society that says, "Hey, if you're not enjoying it, then something's wrong and you have every right, maybe in fact an obligation, to ditch the situation until you find happiness." We are part of the generation that embraces divorce as a viable alternative to fighting out the storm. We are a generation of quitters, unwilling to do the work to make our relationships succeed. This is a scary thing indeed.
I am eternally grateful that God doesn't quit on us. Can you imagine? "Oh, well little Johnny is not pleasing me right now. That's it. I'm done. Let's cut the cord and go our separate ways." Indeed I would be a woman most lost if my Lord treated me like many in our society treat their spouses. People are not expendable. Covenants are not temporary. As I was watching the dynamics of the husband and wife on screen tonight I asked myself, "Why can't he just stop doing this? Why doesn't he just throw himself into their relationship and fix it?" I realized I was comparing this on-screen marriage to that in Fireproof and I suddenly understood the difference. The husband in Fireproof even says that, "God has given me a love for my wife that I never could have had on my own." The difference is Jesus. What would marriages be like in America if those struggling submitted to Jesus and let Him teach them what true love is like? How many broken hearts and broken lives could be avoided? I live in a wayward nation, and a wayward world. Though Cornerstone isn't perfect, I realized why I love this community so much: it is a closer model of heaven than most other communities I've ever been a part of. I have a longing for a new earth, where people love the Lord and submit to Him. May this new earth be realized quickly, and may we learn what it means to have steadfast love like our Lord, keeping our commitments to one another.
The movie follows the stories of several couples and the different types of relationships they're in. One couple in particular is married, but the husband makes a series of choices that lead him into an affair. When he admits it to his wife, she wants to try and salvage the marriage, and he agrees. Yet he continues to cheat on her as if nothing had happened. When she finally gets fed up with the lies, she files for divorce.
My generation is facing a dire situation. We are the society that says, "Hey, if you're not enjoying it, then something's wrong and you have every right, maybe in fact an obligation, to ditch the situation until you find happiness." We are part of the generation that embraces divorce as a viable alternative to fighting out the storm. We are a generation of quitters, unwilling to do the work to make our relationships succeed. This is a scary thing indeed.
I am eternally grateful that God doesn't quit on us. Can you imagine? "Oh, well little Johnny is not pleasing me right now. That's it. I'm done. Let's cut the cord and go our separate ways." Indeed I would be a woman most lost if my Lord treated me like many in our society treat their spouses. People are not expendable. Covenants are not temporary. As I was watching the dynamics of the husband and wife on screen tonight I asked myself, "Why can't he just stop doing this? Why doesn't he just throw himself into their relationship and fix it?" I realized I was comparing this on-screen marriage to that in Fireproof and I suddenly understood the difference. The husband in Fireproof even says that, "God has given me a love for my wife that I never could have had on my own." The difference is Jesus. What would marriages be like in America if those struggling submitted to Jesus and let Him teach them what true love is like? How many broken hearts and broken lives could be avoided? I live in a wayward nation, and a wayward world. Though Cornerstone isn't perfect, I realized why I love this community so much: it is a closer model of heaven than most other communities I've ever been a part of. I have a longing for a new earth, where people love the Lord and submit to Him. May this new earth be realized quickly, and may we learn what it means to have steadfast love like our Lord, keeping our commitments to one another.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
While I'm Waiting...
Yesterday and the day before I had the opportunity to watch the independent film "Fireproof". In just a couple days, God has really used this film to work on my heart. The message is so uplifting, and although the acting is a bit cheesy, the movie is definitely in my top ten.
In particular, one song from the soundrack, "While I'm Waiting," by John Waller, has really stuck with me. It talks about how even in seasons when we are waiting on the Lord, we are still called to continue our service and our worship. Though we may be waiting, we can not become stagnant because when we wait on the Lord, we always have hope that He will give us what we need....our waiting is not for nothing. If we choose to stay still in our time of waiting then what will happen when the season comes to a close and we have become stagnant? Or perhaps our season of waiting comes because God chooses to form us during that time, and it will not come to a close until we have come to the point where God wants us. Either way, seasons of waiting are not a punishment, but a gift, an opportunity.
Right now I feel as though I'm in a big season of waiting: waiting to go to Spain, waiting to find out what I'll do this summer, waiting for a special someone in my life. The song keeps playing over and over in my head, and I know God is speaking to my heart. I want to keep serving Him and worshipping him...drawing close to Him.
In particular, one song from the soundrack, "While I'm Waiting," by John Waller, has really stuck with me. It talks about how even in seasons when we are waiting on the Lord, we are still called to continue our service and our worship. Though we may be waiting, we can not become stagnant because when we wait on the Lord, we always have hope that He will give us what we need....our waiting is not for nothing. If we choose to stay still in our time of waiting then what will happen when the season comes to a close and we have become stagnant? Or perhaps our season of waiting comes because God chooses to form us during that time, and it will not come to a close until we have come to the point where God wants us. Either way, seasons of waiting are not a punishment, but a gift, an opportunity.
Right now I feel as though I'm in a big season of waiting: waiting to go to Spain, waiting to find out what I'll do this summer, waiting for a special someone in my life. The song keeps playing over and over in my head, and I know God is speaking to my heart. I want to keep serving Him and worshipping him...drawing close to Him.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Pucker up!! Cow kissing galore!
Hahaha...here's some photos of the fundraiser! It went off with out a hitch this morning, and it was very amusing to see Gerald, our director of ministry development, and Richard, the head of campus security, kiss these cute baby cows! (Captions are for the picture above them.)
Rob S. from my church graciously offered us the use of his 3-week old twin calves, Chili and Pepper.
Rob S. from my church graciously offered us the use of his 3-week old twin calves, Chili and Pepper.
Corralling the calves was a little tricky. hahaha
Dr. Brown held up the sign and caught students' attention as they were leaving chapel.
The poor calves look so frightened in this photo! And for good reason! hahaha
This is Chili above....and Pepper below!
Thanks to everyone for all your help and support in YES's fundraising efforts.
Or should I say, "Thank MOO!" :-)
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