a union friday night

Tonight was such a lovely night. Actually, all day was pretty great. After honors, chemistry, and chapel this morning, which were all truly fantastic, I took a trip off campus to replenish our toilet paper supply. This made me feel oh so collegiate. I then went for an exhausting, but rewarding, swim at our wonderful aquatics center. Soon after was honors coffee hour, a refreshing time of fellowship with the honors community. Not much later, I went to a back to school party put on by the chemistry, physics, and engineering departments. We had dinner (free food = I'm there) and played sand volleyball. I returned home (my dorm, not B'ham) to work on some homework and hang out with my roommates before time to meet with my life group.

Now for the best part of my day--life groups. My life group met tonight and went to a water fowl reserve about ten minutes from campus. We walked out to a clearing where the full moon was bright enough that we could see clearly. We--well, the boys--made a fire, and we ate smores. Yum. A few of us brought guitars, and my leader brought her ukelele. We played and sang under God's beautiful sky--from How Great is Our God to Barton Hollow. It was beautiful. And I don't mean I had beautiful feelings. It was beautiful--the moon, the stars, the music, the fellowship. ***that was a plug for my honors friends. disregard if that didn't make sense*** In my life, one of the activities that brings me the most joy is playing and singing--especially songs that worship God--with people who love to do the same. Who knew that such a simple couple of hours could bring so much joy? This is what I love about being here at Union with people who find simple ways to enjoy God's creation and fun ways to build friendships and community.

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for me this week. God has given me so much peace and comfort and joy over the course of the week. Last week at this time, I was feeling pretty bummed (this might be an understatement) about not being in a sorority and wondering how long it would take for the assurance that God has a reason for my disappointment to get from my head to my heart. I'm not gonna lie...I'm not over it. However, I'm much more over it than I was last week. God has filled me with joy again. I rejoice in the simple things like the events of today and tonight, and I rejoice in the fact that God is sovereign and he works all things together for the good of those who love him.

His good, pleasing, and perfect will

I've wanted to blog for a while now, but I just haven't had time to sit down and get my thoughts into words in a (somewhat) concise form. So here we go. This might be long considering I have not blogged yet since I've started college.

First, God has been so faithful in confirming that Union is where I am supposed to be. I knew that when I made my decision, but it's always reassuring when God confirms decisions along the way, washing away doubt. I think I'll kind of touch on specifics as I go...

I love my classes--the people in them, the professors, the material, all of it. I'm meeting people here who are genuinely seeking Christ and following hard after Him. My professors love Jesus and care that I learn the material, but also that I see Christ in everything we learn. Last week, my Chemistry professor talked about how the unity and diversity of the elements mirror the unity and diversity of God (the Trinity--three diverse persons, yet one person). In the same week, in Honors, my professor used the Trinity to teach a lesson on writing. If you know me, you know I'm loving this. The professors also truly care about me. Some of them had even learned (or at least tried to learn) our names before we even stepped into class. Also, in my nerdiness, I'm pretty excited about philosophical discussions in Honors and chemical equations in Chemistry.

Of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE not being in class from 8:15-3:35 every day. You see, my schedule is as follows: Monday--8:00 Honors, 9:00 Chemistry, 2:00 Chem Lab; Tuesday--10:50 Honors, 12:15 Biology, 1:40 Old Testament; Wednesday/Friday--8:00 Honors, 9:00 Chemistry; Thursday--7:50 Bio Lab, 10:50 Honors, 12:15 Biology, 1:40 Old Testament. Yep. That's right. Thursdays are brutal, but totally worth it for the rest of the week. I have more free time than I have had since I was about five years old. That will change, but right now I'm loving it. The workload is not much yet, just a good bit of reading. I've already learned most of what we're doing in Chem and Bio, so that helps a lot. Thank you Spain Park.

Not only do I love Union when classes are going on, I love Union on the weekends. Lots of people leave campus, so it's kind of quiet, but it's nice. No one gets up on Saturday mornings, but because I am such the morning person, I do. Last week, I got up and finished a paper that was due that afternoon, took a bike ride, worked out, and showered before most of campus was awake. This week, I rode my bike around campus, found a quiet shady place, spent some time with God, worked out, and went to the bank before most of campus was awake. Though I'll probably be more tired on future Saturdays, I love this routine. I think I'll keep it up. It's nice to spend the first hours of the weekend enjoying this wonderful place and enjoying time alone with God.

Well, I went through recruitment (rush) beginning last Sunday. We had display parties for all three sororities on Monday night, and then we were invited back to Skit Parties on Thursday night. I was invited back to all three sororities on Thursday, and I had a great time getting to know the girls and the personalities of each sorority. By that point I really loved one of the sororities, felt I could fit into another one (though I didn't love it quite as much), and felt the other sorority wasn't for me (nothing wrong with it...just not me). Well, Friday night, the last night before bid day, we went to the commons to find out which sororities had invited us back. I was disappointed to find out that the two sororities I liked had not invited me back, while the one sorority I did not want to be a part of had invited me to their preference party. I prayed and decided to go to the party just to be sure God did not want me in that sorority. After the party, I was sure that Greek life was not in God's plan for me this year. However, He did use rush to let me meet some new friends and to humble me. Rejection is humbling and heartbreaking. I would be lying if I told you that I'm over it. Nevertheless, I know that God is good. He works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). He knows those plans, and they are plans to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). His will is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2). I've got the Word in my head, and I'm praying that the reassurance will quickly resonate in my heart.

Despite these couple rough days, I still LOVE Union. I'm so thankful for all that God used back home to prepare me spiritually, emotionally, academically, etc. for this new season of life, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he moves in my life and the lives around me in this wonderful place.

mutually exclusive

JAMES 4:1-10
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people,[a] don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble."[c]
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I've been memorizing the book of James for what seems like forever (and it almost has been). The cool thing about memorizing Scripture is that as I repeat it over and over in my head, I understand it better and better. Even though I've probably gone over James chapter one hundreds of times and could probably say it in my sleep, God teaches me new things through it even now. Currently, as I've been reviewing James 4, God has given me kind of a new understanding of the passage. The word "adulterous" in verse 4 really stands out to me. I've become so fascinated with the numerous extended metaphors found throughout the Bible, and this is one of them. The church is the "bride" of Christ. When the church chooses the world over Jesus, she is essentially having an affair with the world, as a woman has an affair with a man to whom she isn't married. Now, this is the not so beautiful part of the metaphor. What truly fascinates me is the other side of this metaphor. The church is the bride of Christ, waiting for her groom (Jesus) to come back for her. As a bride remains pure for her future husband, the church should be pure and ready for the return of her perfect groom. This picture was painted so beautifully for me last year in Zambia. One of my team members from Texas told us about how it was Jewish custom for a woman who was betrothed to be married to wait in her home for her groom to come for her after building a home for them. She would not know when he was coming. She just had to be ready. This is such the perfect picture of the relationship between the Christ and the Church. He has gone to prepare a place for us, and he is coming back. We don't know when he will return for us, but we have to be ready. We have to remain pure and faultless for Him.

However, I want to talk about the not so beautiful side as well, the times when we choose the world over Christ, when we have affairs with the world. You know, this passage is clear. We can't have the best of both worlds. It's Christ or the world. Friend or enemy of God. All or nothing. When we choose the world, we are essentially cheating on God. We are looking him in the face and telling him that whatever we put above him--and that can be anything, even good things--is more valuable to us than he is at that moment. He wants are full attention. Our total submission. It's so easy to give in to this world because it's so in our faces and so quick to fix our problems while God doesn't always seem to be as close and might want us to be more patient, but we've got to get past our impatient and shortsighted desires and realize the greatness and sovereignty of our God. We know that he is greater than anything this world has to offer, but when it comes to instant gratification versus waiting on the Lord, it's hard to be patient and pass up what might seem better at the time. The fact that choosing Christ is hard, however, is no excuse. Jesus tells us that following him won't be easy, but it will be worth it. I don't know about you, but for me, if following the Creator of the Universe who loved me enough to send His Son to die for me means passing up my selfish desires so that He can receive glory, then I'm willing.

Let's remember the seriousness of our sin and the beauty of our redemption through Christ. May this perspective affect the way in which we live our lives, in constant awareness that Christ is better and that our total allegiance is to him and him alone.

Africa on the brain

This morning before I left to get my wisdom teeth taken out, I got a Zambia update email saying that the team had been called to the immigration office near where they were working because they could not do ministry with the visas they had. I prayed, asking God to change the hearts of the officials there. As I waited in the waiting room, my dad got an update email saying that the team was dismissed and allowed to continue minstry without having to pay any fines. How great is our God! He truly has ALL authority over every immigration officer and every situation. Please pray for the team as they continue planting churches in Nyimba.

On another African note, I have been reading this blog by a young woman who is doing ministry in Uganda. Her story is almost unbelievable. In short, she is not much older than me, and she has adopted several Ugandan children, helped hundreds of children pay for school, and provides food and showers in her home for countless children daily. And that's a really short and simple summary that doesn't come close to explaining the impact of her ministry. Please read her blog: http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com.

Reading this blog has challenged me and inspired me. It has challenged me to make sacrifices for the cause of Christ and has inspired me to be truly grateful for what I've been given. For example, children in Uganda die because of preventable causes, such as starvation and lack of sanitation. As I sit here on my comfy chair with ice on my face and pain meds in my system and the TV on, I think about the fact that most Ugandan teens don't even have the option to get their wisdom teeth taken out. They don't even have clean water with which to brush their teeth. This makes me so thankful for my healthcare, but at the same time, I struggle with why I am so blessed and others are not. I don't think anyone can answer this question, but I do know that God blessed me so that I can be a blessing to others. I pray that he will show me daily how I can use what I have been given to bless others.

see you later then

Yesterday I went to the airport with several friends to say "see you later" to Kelsey (who will be ministering in Zambia for a year) and the team (who will be there for two weeks). Oh man. It was heart-wrenching to see the tears of friends and family as they prepared to see her go and eventually watched her walk toward her departure gate. It was a bittersweet display of the many lives Kelsey has touched who did not want to let go of her for so long but were excited about the journey God has ahead of her. Not only was it hard for me to see her go because she will be away for so long, but it was hard to see her leaving without the assurance that I would be joining her in a few weeks, as it has been for the past two years. My heart aches to join the beautiful harmonies of Zambian worship and to take pictures of the sweet children who love to see themselves making silly faces. It has been too long since I have had the joy of watching my Zambian brothers and sisters in Christ take hold of how to share the Gospel and disciple new believers.

However, though I may not get to be a tangible part of her ministry in Zambia until Spring Break or even Summer, I am so excited that God has called Kelsey to Zambia for this year and that she has been obedient to his call. If you don't know what stepping out on faith looks like, here it is: Kelsey just graduated high school, which means if she was like most people around here, she would be going to college this year. However, she felt that God was calling her to do ministry in Zambia this year, and so that's what she is doing. It doesn't end there though. When you plan to do ministry in Zambia, there are a lot of uncertainties involved. Basically, Kelsey does not know exactly where she will live (or the living conditions involved) or what she will do. She is working with an organization that will take care of her, but still, there are lots of unknowns. Now that is trusting in God! I am so encouraged and challenged by her example.

Her obedience is such a picture of this verse: "Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life." Mark 10:29-30. For this year, Kelsey has left her home, family, friends, and pretty much everything else behind to further the Kingdom.

Please pray for Kelsey (and for the team!)...
--safety in travel
--openness to the Gospel among the Zambians
--communication with the Zambians, especially with pastors and church members
--for Kelsey...that God will provide friends for her so she is not lonely, that she will stay healthy and safe, that God will bring people to himself through her and that she will be able to disciple them

Please pray for this team. Spiritual warfare is real, but prayer is powerful! Our God is greater!

Our Kelsey prayer bracelets!

Kelsey's Send-off Party