sporatic thoughts

I find that my Tuesday night class is highly entertaining.  My professor is how I would picture a nerdy Christian engineer turned Theology professor from RIT.  We email him our weekly reading assignment so that he can run a script that will take the subject line and put it into an excel sheet and return us an automatic update.  That, and his ability to make amazing star wars sounds, should paint a good picture.

He pulls out little one-liners that are either funny or simple enough to foster a silent “amen” in your head.  One of my favorites has come from our jump through the history of the church and specifically about Martin Luther – “Half and half is great in coffee, not so great in a monk.”  Last class we started breaking into a study on the church and the one simple line he wants to pound into our heads is that the foundation of the church is the invisible relationship between the Redemmer and the redeemed.

Simple? Yes. But, it has taken me a loooooong time to understand that.  I love design.  Things that look good make me smile and power point presentations, like the one I saw last night, that give me a headache make my stomach churn.  Many churches have a great appearance, but many are also empty – void of any real relationship with Christ.  It’s only from a relationship with Christ that we can exude pure love for others and trust in Him.

Last night I was at Starbucks for what would make another exciting story and met a guy who knew a friend I was with.  A quick string of conversation and I find out that he is from Essex, Vermont, went to my high school, goes to DTS, and plans to move there and plant a church in downtown Burlington with his wife.  I’ve been praying for this and walked out slightly in shock and feeling incredibly encouraged.  He wants the people of Vermont to know their Redeemer.  I’m pumped.

God loves us so much.  So much.

side note: I realized that Fall has some essential ingredients: apple cider in various forms, pumpkin muffins, colored leaves, sweatshirts & rain boots, and nice long walks…

Managua

At 430 this morning, my watched beeped me awake and I headed to the airport with two of the girls who were taking off early.  Since then I´ve been relaxing in the lobby, mooching off of the internet, and watching CNN in Spanish.  Something about traveling makes me feel uneasy, but then I remember how interesting it is to look around and observe people…like the old man cursing at the computer next to me because it is in Chinese.

NICARAGUA.  So much to say, but that will probably have to come in pieces.  My mind hasn´t processed much of anything yet.  Jonathan asked if I felt like I had the whole Nicaraguan experience and I think I´ve just hit the tip of the iceberg.  Every where I go there are so many faces and stories that I learn so much from.  We spent the week doing work projects at camp and doing a children´s camp on the weekend.  My prayer for the kids is that they will remember the camp years from now and take away from it fond memories and a better understanding of God´s loving grace. 

Thanks again for praying.  I arrive in Dallas tonight at 1040pm and will hopefully roll out of bed with enough energy to be somewhat productive at work tomorrow.  I´ll load up some pictures on facebook soon!

NICA

Nicaragua tomorrow!

Thanks for praying!

Visitors

I was reminded how much I love people from NY when Allison, Belinda, Drew, Johnny, Mark & Adria made a weekend trip out to Vermont.  It is such a gift from God to be able to sit around, talk, and laugh until my stomach hurts.  Lovely, lovely friends.

Move

–verb (used without object)
1. to pass from one place or position to another.

The month of July is the focal point of my summer.  The next three weeks involves a lot of traveling…Vermont–>Nicaragua–>Florida.  On Saturday, I head to Vermont to spend time with my family.  This, I’m sure, will involve dinner out to Hoagies, a ridiculous amount of bowls of lucky charms in the morning, a hippie venture with Erin, some rain here or there, and plenty of trips to the most loved VT-DeCapua places.  Johnny, Drew, Allison, Belinda, Mark & Adria are stopping by Saturday night, which certainly creates a perfect homecoming. 

2. to go from one place of residence to another: They moved from Tennessee to Texas. 

A lot, almost too much, has been new the past week or so.  With a new apartment comes new sounds, new roommates, new issues with internet, new driving paths to work…etc.  I take regular jogs at the lake and hope to utilize my bike more.  Two days ago I accidently joined a cross-country race and quickly turned around when I realized the finish line was just ahead. 

3. to advance or progress: The red racing car moved into the lead. 

The month of July has and will involve a lot of progress.  I’m heading to Nicaragua!  I think this will be stretching and an opportunity to energize me more for my program at DTS.   Moving away from my on campus housing and my roommate was/is difficult.  But, I feel like it was the right thing to do.  I’m excited for what this new apartment will be for me and my friends.  Nate is getting married!  Abby, Sarita, and I are heading to Orlando to see him and Ali tie the knot.  Lucky for us they will be our neighbors at the new apartment complex. 

4. to have a regular motion, as an implement or a machine; turn; revolve.

For the past 5 years, I’ve moved completely out and into a dorm/apartment each year.  I’ve come to grips that life right now is pretty transient.  Moving and change can be frustrating, but God has been able to use me in each new place, each apartment, and alongside the people I know and love wherever I end up.

Some pictures from the move:

Prayer Request

If you read this and could spend some time in prayer, that would be appreciated.  My grandma has been at the hospital for a few weeks and is not doing well.  Prayer would be for her comfort, her health, and for my family (especially my dad – she’s his mom)….thanks!

Nicaragua!

I’m going on a missions trip to Nicaragua!  June 21st-28th.

Read more on the “Nicaragua Mission Trip” page.

Memorial Day Weekend

Reading at the lake.  Sunburn.  Bandanas.  No shoes.  Sonic Strawberry Limemade during happy hour. 

 

Ah – summer is here.

Quotes from class…

One of the classes that has challenged my way of thinking about God has been my class on the Trinity.  Dr. Horrell defines Trinity as God eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – yet there is One God.  So, three persons, one essence.  Simple? Yeah, right.  I’ve always believed that but it seemed like such an abstract concept that didn’t really affect my life.  Of course, there is still an amazing mystery that will always be there, but through many frustrating conversations, I’m starting to finally understand how a trinitarian view of God teaches us more about who we are and how God intends us to live in community.  If we are created in God’s image, then the more we know about who God is, the more we know about ourselves.

Here are some quotes from my class notes:

“Mission and missions begins with understanding who God of the Bible is and what it means to be created in the divine image.”

“You must give in order to receive, you must let go in order to possess, and you must die in order to live.”

“Believers are called to manifest the saving presence of Jesus Christ through their own collective sacrifice among a hurting and hopeless humanity.”

“Just as an individual Christian focused upon himself becomes less Christ-like (and so less human), so a local church when it becomes centered on its own values will become a shell of what it is intended to be.”

“Just as the persons of the Trinity did not confine themselves to loving themselves but rather created the world and entered redemptively into our existence, so the local church is called to give of itself to an alienated world.”

“The local community is divenely designed to give itself away.”

“Understanding God as Trinity is bedrock, it secures us, it aligns us and keeps us in place.  It provides a structure for WHO WE ARE as human beings and redeemed beings, and equally for WHAT IS THE CHURCH.”

“We recover our true humanity by looking upward, not inward.”

Glue Boys

“In Kitale, Kenya, among countless other towns in the developing world, many street children have found an escape from their emotional and physical pains by becoming accidental consumers. Orphaned, barefoot, and malnourished, they habitually spend the scarce money they earn from odd jobs and charity not on food or water, but on a more immediate fix – glue – incidentally the same solvent-based kind that the wider world uses to cement shoes together. With plastic bottles perched at their mouths, the children breathe in the glue’s neurotoxic fumes until they pass out or fall asleep forever.”

I heard about this current issue from a few people and we work with a missionary in Kitale who has taken pictures of some of these kids:

Check out the documentary “Glue Boys” and learn more: http://www.glueboys.com/