Whole Bible Study

Hello friends! It has been way too long (again, sorry). I'm on fall break, so I have a little time to just relax and visit with people I haven't seen in FOREVER.

Tonight I had the opportunity to help lead Wade's Bible study at Whole Foods. I'm not really sure who came up with the name "Whole Bible Study," but I like it. It kind of has a double meaning. Of course, it takes place at Whole Foods, so that makes sense, but also, we should look at the Bible as something that is a whole, not just a bunch of books that happen to be combined. The Bible is a living and active text that screams the name of Jesus throughout. The Bible as a whole works together to point to Christ. Also, it's important that we look at the Bible as a whole because God didn't give it to us as a Jesus buffet. We can't just decide we like his salvation and disregard his call to surrender our lives to him. When we look at his whole Word, we realize that he wants us wholly (and holy...ha punny).

As I've said before, I've been memorizing the Book of James. Well, I finished, and I went through the whole thing at Bible study tonight. If you've never memorized longer than a few verses before, I challenge you to pick a passage (or if you've done that, a book) and memorize it. This is not just for the sake of "being spiritual." Knowing God's Word is powerful. When you really know it and meditate on it, the Holy Spirit brings it to mind when you need it. I definitely challenge you to do more than memorize, though. When you learn Scripture, think about what it means as you learn it. It's easier to remember that way, too. God will use what you learn to change your heart and your life. Just knowing the Book of James has helped me to overcome temptation and to understand what following Christ looks like, among other things.

Some of you are challenged and will do this, but maybe some of you are busy and feel like you can't handle memorizing Scripture right now. Let me debunk your excuses right now. (Was that a little harsh? Not intentional...I totally understand that busyness--especially with already memorizing stuff for school--makes it hard to pile on more brain activity.) First, if you think you don't have time to strengthen your relationship with God, make time. He's worth it. Second, honestly, memorizing Scripture is not extremely time consuming. It just takes discipline. I have used several things to help me. First, I usually print out what I'm memorizing and carry it around with me. When I was in high school, I would pull it out and work on it when I was finished and had down time in class. The best way for me to memorize is to go verse by verse. If a verse is long, I'll split it up. I memorize the first verse, and then move on to the second. I learn the second and then go over the first and second together. I move on to the third and then go over the second and third togther, then the first through third together. I continue like that, verse by verse, then backtracking, until I have all of it down. Also, another way that I learned James was listening to it on the Journey CD (just make sure it's the same version as what you're memorizing!). I would listen while driving or running or such. This might work better for someone who is more of an audible learner than a visual learner. Definitely figure out your learning style and use it! I also get to know the passage better by saying it in the car when I drive or going over it in my head when I run (this is the best thing for me...I pretty much hate running!). I pray through the passage. Don't tell anyone, but I write the passage in my notes when I get bored in class...or on AP tests when I finish early...haha. Basically my point...you can do it! And please do. God will use it to bring you closer to him.

So I'll step off my soapbox now and continue. It's great to see what God is doing in and through this Bible study. Students who have never looked that deeply into the Word are really learning it, as well as what it means to be devoted followers of Christ. Students who have been deeply studying the Word for years are digging deeper. God is using this Bible study to draw students (and, as a result, their friends and families) to himself. Praise Him!

Sorry for the randomness, but it's really weird that I'm sitting at my desk at my house (in Birmingham) right now. I can't really explain the feeling. Union is home. Birmingham is home. I don't know. I think that God wired me so that I pretty easily adjust to wherever I am. I feel at home here, but when I get back to Union, I'll be glad to be home (in Jackson). Speaking of my current home, I love Union! As you can tell from my lack of posting, it's quite busy, but it's so good.

Confessions: I'm a nerd, and I study too much. I'm a grandma, and I sleep more than your average college student. I'm a penny-pincher (and on the verge of caffeine dependency), and my coffee-drinking schedule revolves around where and when it is provided for free. I'm crazy, and I'm the only person on campus awake before lunch time on Saturdays. Let me unpack all of these.

I actually enjoy studying for my classes (for the most part), and I do so a lot. My favorite place on campus is the coffee shop, Barefoots Joe. I love to study there.

I guess I lost too much sleep in high school, because I refuse to stay up late or get up crazy early. (maybe that has something to do with why I study so much during the day???) I'm pretty sure I haven't stayed up past 12 studying (or doing anything else), and I've only done that a couple of times. That's right. No one tells me to go to bed, but I go to bed earlier than I did when I was in high school. Friends of younger grades who take insane amounts of AP classes...there is hope! In college, if you discipline yourself to get your work done during the day, you can actually go to bed at night. It's quite nice.

God is really teaching me right now what Godly money-management looks like. I don't have a lot of money right now because I'm not working this semester and I'm saving up for a spring break mission trip to Boston (yay!). My parents provide me with the money that I need (honestly more than what I need), so I'm learning how to make financial decisions. It's kind of my nature to forgo certain purchases just because I want to save money (which is definitely a good thing a lot of times), but I'm learning that each purchase is truly an investment. For example, it can be this simple: when I'm grocery shopping, I might really want some fruit to make smoothies. Well, fruit is pretty expensive, but buying smoothie mixes are a little cheaper. However, it would be cheaper to just forgo the smoothies. Nevertheless, purely fruit smoothies are healthy as opposed to cheaper snack foods, so maybe investing in smoothie mixes (that really go a long way when blended with ice and bananas--which are cheap) is actually a good idea. On the other hand, sometimes it is better to choose what is cheaper or just forgo whatever I'm thinking about buying...like coffee, for example. Yep. I did start drinking coffee. I had to make some rules for myself, though, to keep my affinity for coffee from becoming sinful (ha I do realize that sounds pretty crazy...and it is...a little bit). First, I take advantage of free coffee on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. However, sitting in Barefoots on non-coffee days is quite tempting. This is when God teaches me. I can save the money and use it for mission trips or school or such, or I can spend it on coffee. I'll be honest. Sometimes forgoing the coffee is easier than other times. That sounds simple, but seriously, even buying coffee (just coffee...the fancy stuff is doubly expensive!) just a couple times a week adds up. Think about it. If you've never thought about this before, try praying before you take out your cash or your card. It'll change your life, and you might hate me for suggesting it. Just sayin.

I love Saturday mornings at Union! I think I've already talked about this in one of my earlier posts, so I won't repeat myself, but my Saturday routine is just another one of my non-college-student-like quirks. I just can't sleep through such a wonderful time to run and work out and spend time with God and (maybe even) study, you know?

Well, I could probably write more, but this post is INSANELY long. Sorry. If you persevered this far, bless you.

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.