I love, love, love...

I currently love, love, love this song:

"Beautiful Things" by Gungor

(thanks to Toby for sharing it in the AS office)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR7VOKQ0xJY

I love, love, love experiencing the Psalms:

"Those who sow in tears, will reap with shouts of joy. Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves." Psalm 126:5-6

I am experiencing this verse - as I face the hard realities of pain and suffering, I also feel an immense joy as God shows me His love and faithfulness in the midst of my brokenness. I am thankful for His truth and that He is the only One who truly knows all the depths of me, and still loves all of me. He knows me better than I even know myself, and loves me so deeply. I am so thankful for this.

I love, love, love studying and thinking about Romans 8:

(Lauren and I jumping in Jerusalem)

I wrote a paper on Romans 8:1-11 this past week and it was pretty amazing. I got so excited in the middle of writing it, that I started dancing in my dining room. I haven't felt this happy in a really long time, so I am so thankful that God is restoring His joy in me.

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The reason why I get so excited studying this passage is because I the truth that there is freedom in Christ and the Spirit is so exciting for me. When I often feel condemned, the truth that I am not condemned in Christ because He has condemned sin in the flesh for us is so freeing! When I feel hopeless and weak, it is exciting to know that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me! There is so much power in the Spirit - there is so much hope for growth and transformation in the Spirit! This is exciting!

I love, love, love this book:

"The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith

Quotes from Chapter 4 on "God is Generous."

"The sun gratuitously rises and warms our planet and, along with the unmerited rain, nourishes the land, yielding delicious fruits and grains. It is all manna, the unearned provision of a lavish and loving God. We have never been and will never be in a place where we can turn to God and say, "You owe me. I deserve this." We do not deserve anything we have been given. We have earned nothing. Yet God continues to give. That is because God is not interested in what we can do for God. God is interested in something much more important than our good works....God wants you to know and to love him." (85-86)

"The greatest honor we can give to God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of His love."

"What God most wants is to see you smile because you know how much God loves you."

~Julian of Norwich (86)

I think I've already mentioned this in an earlier blog post. But wow, the truths in this book - so simple, yet so powerful. Things I have known in my head, but now I feel like they are actually connecting to my heart - God is so good and beautiful, generous, and trustworthy - I am learning how to believe not just with my head, but also with my heart. For one who is innately a legalist at heart, one who tries to earn God's love and approval and the love and approval of others, it is so amazing to experience the unconditional love that God has given me in Christ, that I don't have to work for His love. It makes me so happy. I feel so loved by God.

Rainy Days are for Wearing Argyle Sweaters and Boots.

(Photo by Amber S. Wallace, NC from www.sxc.hu)

Today, I enjoyed the rain. I don't always like the rain, but I think because I was prepared for the elements after buying a new pair of stylish water-resistant boots, a warm argyle sweater, and a black-and-white floral umbrella yesterday from Target, I enjoyed the rain today.

Yesterday, I realized that my sneakers do not keep my feet dry in the rain - and I absolutely hate the feeling of walking around in wet socks all day. I remember one day when we were walking around in Jerusalem and it rained - and I was wearing a pair of 5-year-old brown-and-white sneakers with holes in them. My socks got wet early in the morning when I stepped in a puddle and I had to walk around all day with wet socks. I remember finally coming back to our hotel, and we had a couple of hours to chill and wander before dinner. I was exhausted and ready to take a nap. Lauren and I were chilling in our room - and then James, Eufemio, and Jo came to convince us to go walk around Old Jerusalem with them. I was so tired, but then I put on dry socks - and BOOM! - it was like drinking a Red Bull - I was energized and in such better spirits. (Perhaps I should title this post "Dry Socks Gives Me Wings." haha) That was the day we spent an hour in a t-shirt shop and bought our "Shalom Y'all" shirts. I think that night of hanging out with the Shalom Y'all crew was one of my favorite times in Israel. I'm glad I put on those dry socks. It's funny how a change in something so small can influence so much.

(Photo by Eufemio Magsombol from eufemio.zenfolio.com)

So I guess this is something God is teaching me...change doesn't happen overnight, but in steps, even if they are baby steps (haha, now I'm thinking about the movie "What About Bob?")...and that He is holding my hand each step of the way....even in the places where I have to face my fears and my tears. God is good, gentle, and patient with me, even when I am impatient with myself. I am thankful for this.

I am currently reading "The Good and Beautiful God: Falling In Love with the God Jesus Knows" by James Bryan Smith for my Theology class. It is a great book - I highly recommend it. It focuses on how Jesus views God and then has Spiritual Formation Exercises so that the knowledge of who God is doesn't just become head knowledge, but will truly sink deep into the soul. I just read the chapter on how "God is Trustworthy" and the spiritual formation exercise is to count our blessings and praise God for the good gifts He provides....to help us see that He is good and trustworthy. This is something that my Spiritual Director encouraged me to do last semester, but I never really did it...but now as I realize how much I need to internalize this truth, I think this is something I need to start doing more often:

So today's blessings are:

~rain

~boots

~celebrating wearing boots and our femininity with my roommates and the A.S. ladies.

~argyle sweaters

~umbrellas

~being refreshed by worshiping God through music and being reminded that Jesus is risen with other students at chapel

~enjoying food and fellowship with other Talbot students at donut chapel

~Krispy Kreme donuts

~Panera bagels

~Albertson's fried chicken and potato wedges

~A.S. staff meeting - I really love our A.S. team!

~hanging out and having a sleepy day in the A.S. office

~walking around the neighborhood of my apartment and splashing in puddles at the park and having dry socks through it all!

~seeing birds flying in the trees even in the rain

~Wonton soup perfect for cold weather

~free music downloads from Come and Live! - Currently listening to "Lesser Men " by Abel

~blogging and enjoying the quiet, solitude, and reflection in my apartment

There are many things to be thankful for.

Women and Men in Ministry

Just finished reading Women and Men in Ministry: A Complementary Perspective by Robert L. Saucy and Judith K. TenElshof (2 Talbot profs) for my Pastoral Epistles class. I really liked it.

They provide really good Scriptural, theological, psychological, and cultural support for how there is a created order with the headship of man, yet there is also great value and need of the women's voice in the church.

I think I agree with their perspective, but now figuring out how that practically looks like for me is another story...

I want to work with college students in a ministry setting - whether that be campus ministry and/or -perhaps, eventually becoming a professor, so I'm trying to figure out where I fit in the whole scheme of things - how to utilize the ways God has gifted me for His glory in the ways He wants me to use them.