Living life with steps of faith

Hmmm. Wouldn't life be convenient if we could just plan it out to go exactly how we would like? But, as it has probably been said a thousand times before, "life happens!" and it doesn't go as we would plan. Last night, after writing down my three goals for the next five years, I started to realize what my life would look like if those goals were to be accomplished in the amount of time that I expect. In our society, there seems to be a number that really represents coming of age. It is a number that represents the end of youthfulness and the time when one must really buckle down and be an adult. In youth ministry and cultural discussions it is often brought up that the more predominant United States culture does not have a specific age selected for adulthood or any special ceremony to recognize adulthood as a significant rite of passage. But, after writing my goals last night, reflecting upon them, and thinking about what I've seen in people's lives, I now mus...

I just realized today that I really only have 3 main goals for the next 5 years of my life. This may or may not seem surprising to the reader, but I find it quite surprising as a person who is very goal-oriented and driven. Plus, I know my tract history of regularly updating my list of 100 goals created back in 7th grade. So, anyway, this is where I would like to be five years from now: 1. Graduated from Divinity school with my MDiv. 2. Be a professional woman with a career that includes quality health insurance and a decent wage that allows room for some significant giving. 3. To be contentedly married and to have already had my first child. Now, when I look at that limited list of goals, I realize that they include some pretty big life changes. It is amazing to think of how much the culture and the structure of my immediate family has the potential to change over the next five years. Now that my sister is also an adult and choosing to take early steps in demonstrating her free...

It often seems that I accidentally find myself in the right places and once I realize where I am I then have to turn to God and ask, "How did I get here?" and "What plans do you have for me here?" It seems as though I have once again reached one of those places which means I will need to be more than usual on my knees in prayer seeking God's direction. This place reminds me much of my first night at a national pageant when I was asked by one of the pageant hosts what was my reason for being at the pageant, to which I was not able to give a reply. I remember going into my room and shutting the door and realizing where I was and the significance of it all and then I knelt at the bed before God and sought His answer to the question of "why?" Thus I am at that place again, door closed, the reality of the place I find myself in staring me in the face and the host's questions still etched in my head, "What is your reason for being here?"

This afternoon I joined other language students in the Special Collections section of the library. We were meeting for a special 2-part seminar on ancient biblical texts. As I entered the meeting room, I was surprised to find a rolled up parchment and a large selection from a leather Torah. In front of me also lay several biblical manuscripts, one possibly worth a million dollars, all uncased, and available to touch. I was even more surprised, but quite delighted to hear our professor encourage us to touch these ancient manuscripts and feel the material from which they were made. Our professor encouraged us to consider the hands that have touched and those that produced the texts and to see the life story of each document. As I sat there listening to this expert in New Testament texts and biblical languages, I was overwhelmed with the responsibility we have to preserve Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew. Over the past week and a half of studying Koine Greek at an intensive level, I ...

Tonight as I was looking at my blank walls and freely talking with God, sharing both prayer intercessions and words of praise/thanksgiving, I reflect upon how freely and easily I approached Him and was unable to share openly and honestly. It wasn't that long ago, just a few weeks, that it seemed a burden to come before God and lay my requests, concerns, and thoughts down before Him, because there were just too many too express! Perhaps that is a mode of concern, a warning flag of when one has become too busy, to overwhelmed with the needs and cares of others, the blanket statements of "Lord, please reveal yourself in the life of the people associated with this organization," rather than specific prayers for specific people. When consenting to pray for someone leads to a prayer in that moment and a prayer in the evening asking God to bless whoever it was (name and identity of person long forgotten) that shared that they needed prayers for encouragement that day then per...

Here is some thoughts I recorded in my personal paper journal today: "I am sitting in class with some of the most brilliant people in the United States and for the first time I realize what it feels like to be a C average student. On Monday, I arrived early to Greek class, prepared to sit in one of two seats that theoretically enhance a students relationship with the professor, when much to my surprise I find both seats already occupied by the only two other students in the classroom. Needless to say, as my peers arrived early for class the first three rows of the room filled quickly, negating the unoccupied chairs filling the back half of the room. Today I arrived to class in jeans and a light pink spring shirt (partly due to some construction in the bathroom), uncharacteristic of the professional clothes I've worn for the past four days and found a seat in the back row, which in this particular classroom is the third of seven. In just two days we've covered at least ...

At around 2 o'clock this afternoon, I said good-bye to my friend and mentioned that I would look forward to seeing her again this weekend. Shortly after, she left on her return trip to Minneapolis to meet some family for a family reunion. She hadn't made it more than 30 minutes, when a tube broke loose on her car and it made a loud noise causing her to pool over to the side of the road. The prognosis - junk yard. Luckily, she wasn't too far away and she was able to get a hold of my parents who helped her out. While I was finishing up a few last minute things I needed to do before heading to work and saying fare-well to my friend, she was busily mapping out her route home, which included MN I-35. Earlier this morning I asked God to save the lives of my friends - and I listed out their names. God answered that prayer this afternoon with a car that refused to move! I don't even know how to express my gratefulness for the fact that my friend didn't make it to Minn...