March 25, 2010
March 8, 2010
In Case You Haven't Heard...
...Cake-Shakes at Portillo's are a real treat!
They literally throw a piece of cake in the blender with some ice cream and stuff. You've got to share it with a friend because it's amazingly filling :). Logan, Kristen, Chelsea & I (along with some of the brothers) enjoyed them on Friday night.
...hallway hangouts are ALWAYS permitted.
Our floor definitely spends a good amount of time hanging out in the hallway. It's a good place to bond. I especially love sleeping on the girls (like Logan) from my floor, as you can see below. (Embarassingly, my body still hasn't figured out how to be a college kid - it's ready for bed at like ten, haha).
...I have a new job!
The reason I'm spending half of my spring break in Chicago is because I was hired at Barnes & Noble Cafe! I've had two days of training and two more to go. I am very much enjoying it so far, and I feel incredibly blessed to have found a good job!
...I get to go home on Thursday.
They literally throw a piece of cake in the blender with some ice cream and stuff. You've got to share it with a friend because it's amazingly filling :). Logan, Kristen, Chelsea & I (along with some of the brothers) enjoyed them on Friday night.
...hallway hangouts are ALWAYS permitted.
Our floor definitely spends a good amount of time hanging out in the hallway. It's a good place to bond. I especially love sleeping on the girls (like Logan) from my floor, as you can see below. (Embarassingly, my body still hasn't figured out how to be a college kid - it's ready for bed at like ten, haha).
...I have a new job!
The reason I'm spending half of my spring break in Chicago is because I was hired at Barnes & Noble Cafe! I've had two days of training and two more to go. I am very much enjoying it so far, and I feel incredibly blessed to have found a good job!
...I get to go home on Thursday.
And you better believe I am excited about that. I can't wait to go to my church, see my family, see my friends, and stare at my boyfriend ;). Oh Thursday cannot come fast enough!
That's all for now!
March 6, 2010
In Snow, Sand, and Sunshine
Aprendiendo a rezar...
Since I've come to Moody, the biggest thematic lesson God is giving me is on prayer. I am learning to pray, it's as simple as that. It's not that I didn't pray before arriving here, my idea of prayer is just being radically refined. We're to pray relentlessly, unceasingly, diligently, confidently, genuinely, and kingdom-mindedly; and though undeserved, He hears, answers, moves, speaks, keeps His every promise, and is ever-patient with us. Also, seemingly most importantly we're to remember that we were created with two ears and one mouth, and we should use them accordingly. God's heart is to tell us, show us, and teach us His will in His timing; the Word tells us His sheep know his voice .* God speaks to us through His word, through another person or a song, and sometimes directly (and specifically) to our hearts. He never contradicts Himself, never lies**, and never fails***. (Phew! I'm also learning that it never gets old to talk/type about how amazingly good God is).
Then yesterday happened.
This the start of our spring break, so people have been stirring, packing, leaving, hugging, etc. I was feeling a little broken, honestly. I was recently hired at a Cafe (more to come about that), which is a huge blessing... but the timing just isn't what I would've chosen. I was so ready to go home, not to do training for a new job. I'm only staying in Chicago for a week of the 18-day break, but yesterday there would've been no convincing me that that was fair in the least. As Graci Mitchell (a 3-year-old I love) sang to me over the phone, my eyes welled with tears. I just want to hold her. Feeling mildly ridiculous, I thought to myself I just need to do something... I packed a small bag with my bible, my camera, my journal, and some cash and decided I was just going to go for a walk. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I knew I needed to pray; my new default instinct to all things! So I left... which turned out to be an excellent decision.
I was pleasantly greeted by sunshine.
The weather was picturesque. I thought to myself, if only I could remove all these buildings to feel the full effect of the sun. I then decided the closest I was going to get to that was being on the "beach" by lake Michigan. I walked there, found a dry spot of sand, and rolled myself onto my back. It was so bright I could barely keep my eyes open. My only prayer was God, be my comfort. Just as I prayed three white birds flew through the blue sky above me. I giggled in the irony of the trinity idea. I closed my eyes for a moment, but opened them again as they began to leak. This time two white birds flew over me and my heart was reminded of John 14: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate (Comforter, Encourager, Counselor), who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you." (vs 16-17). One of the birds has made a home in my heart. When I'm feeling discouraged, alone, frustrated, confused, (or any emotion across the spectrum); I need not to look anywhere but to the One who lives in me, (and with, around, and above me). What joy I'm finding in the fact that the One who sastisfies my every need, is the same One who relentlessly pursues me, and intimately knows the innermost workings of my heart, soul, body, and mind.
"...remove all these buildings..."
As I said earlier, the first thought I had as I stepped into the sunshine was that I wished I could remove all the buildings. Ironically, I'm continually discovering that is exactly what God desires to do in my heart; to burn away everything that is not of Him so that I might simply lay in the presence of the sun (Son). I ache for the walls to fall, longing to feel the heat of His fire. It's about time for a renovation. It's about time for the Kingdom# to come and replace the distractions, temptations, and idols in my life.
* John 10:11-13
** Hebrews 6:18
*** Daniel 9:4
# a link to Bethany Dillon's song: Kingdom
February 27, 2010
Windows, Waiting, and Worship
I shouldn't do homework near windows.
So I was reading by a window overlooking a corner in Chicago, (well kind of I was reading - but mostly I was staring out the window). I was most captivated by the pedestrian cross lights. At first it was simply entertaining to count the number of times the orange hand flashed before it held solid; and it became a game for me to count-down in my mind when it would turn to a walk sign again. Then I couldn't help but be a sort of mesmerized watching the pedestrians themselves; all of them with a place to go, seemingly something to do. What was most interesting is that regardless of age, race, assumed occupation, etc, nobody was interested in waiting. If the friendly walk light changed to a flashing hand, an urgency seemed to sweep over the intersection as people went from walking to jogging to make it across the crosswalk avoiding a wait. It was a rather humorous scene to watch from a window, but I couldn't laugh in a mocking manner because I so readily identified with that behavior.
The tendency of human nature is to be impatient.
I used to pride myself in claiming I was patient. In my mind I deserved a gold star for being the last to get a plate of food without complaint, passing out presents before opening mine, standing in a long retail line with joy, or waiting for a child to cooperate. I glorified myself in successfully holding out in things that ultimately didn't matter. But watching these people scurry across the street, racing the blinking orange hand, got the wheels turning in my mind...
I don't like to wait.
The reality is, when it comes to the real stuff (i.e. God's blessing) I've been so impatient. Quite frankly, waiting is uncomfortable; it's heavy, and confusing. Especially when you feel like nobody else has to wait. Instead of waiting, we resort to reaching out and beyond God's Will... idol worship. When it feels like He's taking too long, we have the choice to reach to finish the job or find relief; OR simply sit in the weight of waiting*. Sometimes God even sends us nice orange flashing lights, that we might just wait (in the confident hope that Romans 12 talks about). Yet in our free will, we still get to choose. What we sometimes don't realize is the foolishness of it all. We'd usually rather risk getting hit by a moving vehicle than wait the extra 45 seconds to cross the street. The same is true with God's timing in my life. There are times that I can see His promise, but instead of waiting on Him, I (against all warning signs) run and reach. What I failed to realize until now is the destruciveness of it all.
It can't be idol worship...
I never used to like the idea of even talking about idol worship. I don't have any obscure statues in my closets or shrines under my bed. As far as I was concerned, I worshipped God and God alone. Ironically, (or not), what I'm learning this week is that I have some repenting to do, because I'm guilty of idol worship. I've held on to back-up plans and tried to find my security in worthless things of the world. Especially when it comes to finances, I've ran around frantically like God isn't big enough to take care of me. Instead of learning to wait on the Lord, I began to resort to worshipping "mammon", the god of money. I asked money to be more than it is, I began to give it authority over my life. When that wasn't working for me, I tried worshipping "sophia", the god of human wisdom. I thought maybe if I could just know enough things, then I'd feel better. The truth is, idols leave you feeling unsatisfied, insecure, unsure, divided, and confused. Idols don't mind sharing us with other idols as long as we're distracted from the truth. The truth is that they only produce an unhealthy fear in our hearts. Therein lies the reason that waiting is so gosh darn uncomfortable: we fear that God might be like every other idol we've worshipped. But His every word proves that He's not:
1) God will not share our hearts with the idols we worship. Exodus 34:14 says "You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you" (NLT).
2) God satisfies, "You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing", Psalm 145:16 (ESV).
3) He is a God of security, "You need not to be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap", Proverbs 3:25-26 (NLT)
...I could go on and on of the truths that I've been learning this week.
You will look like the God you worship*.
(You become like the ones you spend time with). If I want to know peace, to know joy, to know love... that means I am to worship the One who created them. If I want to be refined, I have to change the way I choose to live. I have to destroy the alters, give up hiding, let go of cultural heroes, change the way I spend my free time, and feel the weight of waiting. In return I get Freedom. I am transformed to be more and more like Jesus. I am taken "from one degree of glory to another"**. I don't wake early in the morning because I don't like sleep; but rather because I have the privilege of entering into the presence of the King of Kings each and every day. I don't skip social events because I don't like people; but because I serve a jealous God that is worthy of my time, prayer, and praise. It's his transformation of my heart, his refining of my soul, that compels me to ache for the Kingdom. Just when I thought a school like this would open my eyes to see a world that needs God, my heart has actually been most softened to the fact that I need God.
*This idea is taken from Valleybrook Church's January 17th message
**2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV
So I was reading by a window overlooking a corner in Chicago, (well kind of I was reading - but mostly I was staring out the window). I was most captivated by the pedestrian cross lights. At first it was simply entertaining to count the number of times the orange hand flashed before it held solid; and it became a game for me to count-down in my mind when it would turn to a walk sign again. Then I couldn't help but be a sort of mesmerized watching the pedestrians themselves; all of them with a place to go, seemingly something to do. What was most interesting is that regardless of age, race, assumed occupation, etc, nobody was interested in waiting. If the friendly walk light changed to a flashing hand, an urgency seemed to sweep over the intersection as people went from walking to jogging to make it across the crosswalk avoiding a wait. It was a rather humorous scene to watch from a window, but I couldn't laugh in a mocking manner because I so readily identified with that behavior.
The tendency of human nature is to be impatient.
I used to pride myself in claiming I was patient. In my mind I deserved a gold star for being the last to get a plate of food without complaint, passing out presents before opening mine, standing in a long retail line with joy, or waiting for a child to cooperate. I glorified myself in successfully holding out in things that ultimately didn't matter. But watching these people scurry across the street, racing the blinking orange hand, got the wheels turning in my mind...
I don't like to wait.
The reality is, when it comes to the real stuff (i.e. God's blessing) I've been so impatient. Quite frankly, waiting is uncomfortable; it's heavy, and confusing. Especially when you feel like nobody else has to wait. Instead of waiting, we resort to reaching out and beyond God's Will... idol worship. When it feels like He's taking too long, we have the choice to reach to finish the job or find relief; OR simply sit in the weight of waiting*. Sometimes God even sends us nice orange flashing lights, that we might just wait (in the confident hope that Romans 12 talks about). Yet in our free will, we still get to choose. What we sometimes don't realize is the foolishness of it all. We'd usually rather risk getting hit by a moving vehicle than wait the extra 45 seconds to cross the street. The same is true with God's timing in my life. There are times that I can see His promise, but instead of waiting on Him, I (against all warning signs) run and reach. What I failed to realize until now is the destruciveness of it all.
It can't be idol worship...
I never used to like the idea of even talking about idol worship. I don't have any obscure statues in my closets or shrines under my bed. As far as I was concerned, I worshipped God and God alone. Ironically, (or not), what I'm learning this week is that I have some repenting to do, because I'm guilty of idol worship. I've held on to back-up plans and tried to find my security in worthless things of the world. Especially when it comes to finances, I've ran around frantically like God isn't big enough to take care of me. Instead of learning to wait on the Lord, I began to resort to worshipping "mammon", the god of money. I asked money to be more than it is, I began to give it authority over my life. When that wasn't working for me, I tried worshipping "sophia", the god of human wisdom. I thought maybe if I could just know enough things, then I'd feel better. The truth is, idols leave you feeling unsatisfied, insecure, unsure, divided, and confused. Idols don't mind sharing us with other idols as long as we're distracted from the truth. The truth is that they only produce an unhealthy fear in our hearts. Therein lies the reason that waiting is so gosh darn uncomfortable: we fear that God might be like every other idol we've worshipped. But His every word proves that He's not:
1) God will not share our hearts with the idols we worship. Exodus 34:14 says "You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you" (NLT).
2) God satisfies, "You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing", Psalm 145:16 (ESV).
3) He is a God of security, "You need not to be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap", Proverbs 3:25-26 (NLT)
...I could go on and on of the truths that I've been learning this week.
You will look like the God you worship*.
(You become like the ones you spend time with). If I want to know peace, to know joy, to know love... that means I am to worship the One who created them. If I want to be refined, I have to change the way I choose to live. I have to destroy the alters, give up hiding, let go of cultural heroes, change the way I spend my free time, and feel the weight of waiting. In return I get Freedom. I am transformed to be more and more like Jesus. I am taken "from one degree of glory to another"**. I don't wake early in the morning because I don't like sleep; but rather because I have the privilege of entering into the presence of the King of Kings each and every day. I don't skip social events because I don't like people; but because I serve a jealous God that is worthy of my time, prayer, and praise. It's his transformation of my heart, his refining of my soul, that compels me to ache for the Kingdom. Just when I thought a school like this would open my eyes to see a world that needs God, my heart has actually been most softened to the fact that I need God.
*This idea is taken from Valleybrook Church's January 17th message
**2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV
February 25, 2010
Girls (and boys) Just Wanna Have Fun!
Moody time is full of hang-out events.
I should first define some vocabulary that I'm about to use... A "sister" refers to anyone that lives on Houghton's (my dorm hall's) 4th floor, specifically on the North Side. A "brother" refers to anyone who lives on Culby's (the male's dorm) 4th floor. Anyway, random community building events happen multiple times throughout the week, and it's awesome. We study together, eat meals together, get off campus together, etc, etc. I thought I'd post some pictures from two of our "bro/sis" events!
Our brothers put on a Valentines Day dinner for us!
Jared was here for that weekend, so he got to participate. The guys really acted like gentlemen and made a delicious meal for us =).
The sisters hosted a Formal Open House.
At Moody, guys and girls aren't allowed in each other's dorm halls, except like 4 times a year. One of those times was last weekend when we planned a formal event for the guys to attend. Our theme was Red Carpet Movie Premier! We pretended as if the guys were all movie stars, and the girls played rolls like crazy fans, servers, reporters, paparazzi (my role), announcer, etc. We also made a film (in which we acted like the guys) to play for the premier. It was a really good time...
I should first define some vocabulary that I'm about to use... A "sister" refers to anyone that lives on Houghton's (my dorm hall's) 4th floor, specifically on the North Side. A "brother" refers to anyone who lives on Culby's (the male's dorm) 4th floor. Anyway, random community building events happen multiple times throughout the week, and it's awesome. We study together, eat meals together, get off campus together, etc, etc. I thought I'd post some pictures from two of our "bro/sis" events!
Our brothers put on a Valentines Day dinner for us!
Jared was here for that weekend, so he got to participate. The guys really acted like gentlemen and made a delicious meal for us =).
The sisters hosted a Formal Open House.
At Moody, guys and girls aren't allowed in each other's dorm halls, except like 4 times a year. One of those times was last weekend when we planned a formal event for the guys to attend. Our theme was Red Carpet Movie Premier! We pretended as if the guys were all movie stars, and the girls played rolls like crazy fans, servers, reporters, paparazzi (my role), announcer, etc. We also made a film (in which we acted like the guys) to play for the premier. It was a really good time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)