Hello Everyone!
Just wonderin' when everyone is planning to come back to Emory?
young
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
partnering with asian churches
[fyi, this is eunice, not pastor young]
i've been contacted this summer by students who go to asian churches near emory looking to partner with us during the school year. i wanna get back to them and tell them what we're thinking, so i thought i'd throw it up here for us to talk about.
acf hasn't partnered with churches in a long time, from what i can remember. in fact, i think it's been a bit wary of doing so. but it may be time this year to start branching out and building some bridges. the person who contacted me was from crossroads church of atlanta (cca). here are some things i was thinking of regarding church partnerships (a mix of questions and thoughts):
i've been contacted this summer by students who go to asian churches near emory looking to partner with us during the school year. i wanna get back to them and tell them what we're thinking, so i thought i'd throw it up here for us to talk about.
acf hasn't partnered with churches in a long time, from what i can remember. in fact, i think it's been a bit wary of doing so. but it may be time this year to start branching out and building some bridges. the person who contacted me was from crossroads church of atlanta (cca). here are some things i was thinking of regarding church partnerships (a mix of questions and thoughts):
- do we want to have one main/strong partnership with a designated church or a lot of loose ties with the various asian churches that acfers attend?
- church partnerships could be good so that we could be actively involved in helping plug acfers into churches
- would this compete for which community people are involved in?
- for a church to partner with an on campus fellowship (i mean really partner, not just like a joint welcome bbq in the fall and an ice cream social together in the spring), this would take considerable planning and maybe even restructuring of the church's college fellowship structure--will they be willing to do so?
- would acf be willing to make those changes, too?
- what is the end goal/purpose of acf and a church partnering? (this may seem duh, but still wanted to throw it out there)
- i feel like a partnership could both complicate things but also increase our reach, combine resources, and make acf less isolated.
i'm currently making my way through the irresistible revolution right now. i've been enjoying it. dude, where's everybody at these days?? what happened to colossians? i'm looking forward to when we can all reconnect. btw, this is a purely personal plug, but my roommate, lydia, and i are currently looking for a 3rd roommate. if you know someone (female, pref 3 or 4th yr, or graduated) looking for an apartment, gimme a holler. thanks.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
the gospel is not about hell
since eunice didn't tag anyone, i'll jump in.
after one week at YTI, i've decided to make the most earnest effort to never discuss hell again. no matter how hard we try, if the gospel is allowed to venture into saying who is going where, hell becomes the dominant issue. it makes sense; if hell is a place of eternal, conscious torment, wouldn't you like to find out how to not go there?
and that's the problem-- the gospel is then reduced into drawing boundaries, seeing who's in and who's out. do i just have to ask for forgiveness? how much life change is necessary? isn't all grace? what about those who never heard? what about those who heard, but still lived a good life? this is very personal for me, since my family is not christian, and most of my aunts/uncles/cousins aren't either.
instead, i want the gospel to be about the availability of the reign of God. we can now be reconciled to God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. even more exciting is the invitation to live and participate in God's restoration of creation. the gospel becomes dynamic, fluid, alive and unpredictable.
and now the dominant motif shifts from forgiveness to journey. bring hell into the picture, and the gospel centers on forgiveness, with transformation being a consequence. a gospel of the kingdom will also have forgiveness as a fundamental value, as well as invitation, repentance and renewal.
as for hell, i have faith that our God is just. when the judgment day comes, and God sifts the wheat from the tares, i know i will see what God has done and think, "that was right. that was good. that was just."
anyway... just some thoughts. i tag pastor young to go next.
after one week at YTI, i've decided to make the most earnest effort to never discuss hell again. no matter how hard we try, if the gospel is allowed to venture into saying who is going where, hell becomes the dominant issue. it makes sense; if hell is a place of eternal, conscious torment, wouldn't you like to find out how to not go there?
and that's the problem-- the gospel is then reduced into drawing boundaries, seeing who's in and who's out. do i just have to ask for forgiveness? how much life change is necessary? isn't all grace? what about those who never heard? what about those who heard, but still lived a good life? this is very personal for me, since my family is not christian, and most of my aunts/uncles/cousins aren't either.
instead, i want the gospel to be about the availability of the reign of God. we can now be reconciled to God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. even more exciting is the invitation to live and participate in God's restoration of creation. the gospel becomes dynamic, fluid, alive and unpredictable.
and now the dominant motif shifts from forgiveness to journey. bring hell into the picture, and the gospel centers on forgiveness, with transformation being a consequence. a gospel of the kingdom will also have forgiveness as a fundamental value, as well as invitation, repentance and renewal.
as for hell, i have faith that our God is just. when the judgment day comes, and God sifts the wheat from the tares, i know i will see what God has done and think, "that was right. that was good. that was just."
anyway... just some thoughts. i tag pastor young to go next.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
>>is it too early to start dreaming?
because i'm dying to start dreaming about next year. i've actually caught myself thinking about acf next year and getting so caught up in the thought that i have to yank myself away and wonder what it is i'm getting excited about and why i'm gonna be doing what i'm doing. (does that make sense?) so basically i have this tendency to get very excited about stuff and i love planning things. that also happens to be the perfect setup for a dangerous pitfall: self reliance. as we start thinking about next year, the large groups we want to have, livng out our new sense of mission, small groups, iv-wide prayer, i'd like to begin this conversation together. i guess what i'm hoping for is a united act of preparing to serve the acf community next year - united in prayer, in thoughtful conversation, in encouragement, in constructive criticism.
i'd like for us to really get the ball rolling: discuss new student outreach, lay out some concrete lg topics, speaker ideas, discuss meeting times, etc. but before all that exciting "planning," i'd like to challenge all of us, myself included, to spend some time each day in prayer really asking God to search us and prepare us. i'm mainly led to pray this because it's what i think i really need right now--for God to examine my heart motives, my anxieties, etc. about acf and acknowledge them before him. i know that God isn't limited to a one-week crash course in acf-leading prep, but if that could be our focus for the next few days, maybe we can all approach a (somewhat) common point to pick up on our conversation for next year. here are a couple questions you may consider meditating on during your conversations w/ God:
i'd like for us to really get the ball rolling: discuss new student outreach, lay out some concrete lg topics, speaker ideas, discuss meeting times, etc. but before all that exciting "planning," i'd like to challenge all of us, myself included, to spend some time each day in prayer really asking God to search us and prepare us. i'm mainly led to pray this because it's what i think i really need right now--for God to examine my heart motives, my anxieties, etc. about acf and acknowledge them before him. i know that God isn't limited to a one-week crash course in acf-leading prep, but if that could be our focus for the next few days, maybe we can all approach a (somewhat) common point to pick up on our conversation for next year. here are a couple questions you may consider meditating on during your conversations w/ God:
- what am i most anxious about and why?
- in what ways do i expect God to work? in what areas do i not have expectation?
- what causes me seek God versus being self reliant?
use these if they help. feel free to post any thougths you have on these prompts, exciting plans you want to see next year, or anything else.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
busyness
wow, it's been a while! i hope we'll still keep blogging so we can keep in touch this summer.
some of you may know nothing more about me except that i'm danny's wife. hopefully, we'll get a chance to know each other better in the coming year. to get introductions started, i'll share what i do "for a living" in case you have no idea. :) i've worked the past 8 years as a management consultant at a global benefits consulting firm. since employees are a company's greatest asset, my work involves developing strategies to maximize employee performance, attract talent, and keep employees engaged through the reward programs offered through the employment "deal." i feel that this work is what God has called me to do-- to be a Christ-follower in "corporate America" and impact the policies that affect people's jobs and livelihoods.
the business world is a highly political and competitive environment, and i feel that God has placed me where i am to make a difference. i've been fortunate enough to transfer to three offices within my company during the past 8 years (houston, austin, atlanta), and i can see God's purposes for planting me within each office i've been at. whether it's to be a light as one of a few Christians in my work group, to defy company policies that are greedy and unethical, or to create benefit structures that eliminate executives taking advantages of line employees-- i feel that this is what God has equipped me to do. i firmly believe that we can follow Christ in whatever vocation He's called us into.
summer is busy season at my work because strategies have to be approved by my clients before the fall. despite the fact that i'm used to working 60+ hours in the summer, this season has been unusually stressful and emotionally draining. after meditating about it recently, i realized that my exhaustion has stemmed from running on sheer willpower and relying on my own abilities instead of tapping into God's strength. it may seem counterintuitive, but it's true that the busier we get, the more we need to rely on God to guide us through our manic days. oftentimes i feel that i have too much to do and can't bother with God, but not seeking His peace is exactly why i feel burned-out and on-edge.
i'm going to try something this week-- to have short conversations with Him throughout the day in an attempt to keep Him top of mind even if i'm busy. i need to be constantly reminded that His guidance, strength, peace are available to me-- wherever i am, whatever i'm doing. He is both my Lord and my friend, and i need to work on my relationship with Him just like any friendship that I treasure.
am i supposed to tag someone now? how about eunice? or anyone else that wants to post? :)
some of you may know nothing more about me except that i'm danny's wife. hopefully, we'll get a chance to know each other better in the coming year. to get introductions started, i'll share what i do "for a living" in case you have no idea. :) i've worked the past 8 years as a management consultant at a global benefits consulting firm. since employees are a company's greatest asset, my work involves developing strategies to maximize employee performance, attract talent, and keep employees engaged through the reward programs offered through the employment "deal." i feel that this work is what God has called me to do-- to be a Christ-follower in "corporate America" and impact the policies that affect people's jobs and livelihoods.
the business world is a highly political and competitive environment, and i feel that God has placed me where i am to make a difference. i've been fortunate enough to transfer to three offices within my company during the past 8 years (houston, austin, atlanta), and i can see God's purposes for planting me within each office i've been at. whether it's to be a light as one of a few Christians in my work group, to defy company policies that are greedy and unethical, or to create benefit structures that eliminate executives taking advantages of line employees-- i feel that this is what God has equipped me to do. i firmly believe that we can follow Christ in whatever vocation He's called us into.
summer is busy season at my work because strategies have to be approved by my clients before the fall. despite the fact that i'm used to working 60+ hours in the summer, this season has been unusually stressful and emotionally draining. after meditating about it recently, i realized that my exhaustion has stemmed from running on sheer willpower and relying on my own abilities instead of tapping into God's strength. it may seem counterintuitive, but it's true that the busier we get, the more we need to rely on God to guide us through our manic days. oftentimes i feel that i have too much to do and can't bother with God, but not seeking His peace is exactly why i feel burned-out and on-edge.
i'm going to try something this week-- to have short conversations with Him throughout the day in an attempt to keep Him top of mind even if i'm busy. i need to be constantly reminded that His guidance, strength, peace are available to me-- wherever i am, whatever i'm doing. He is both my Lord and my friend, and i need to work on my relationship with Him just like any friendship that I treasure.
am i supposed to tag someone now? how about eunice? or anyone else that wants to post? :)
Friday, July 6, 2007
missing in action
hey everyone,
sorry for the lack of activity lately. i was out of town when my brother visited, and this week moved on campus for YTI. i'll be fairly swamped the next few weeks, so i probably won't be able to nudge different people to post. how about this: we'll make this a free for all blog now. here are the ground rules:
1. person A posts... anything
2. at the end of the post, person A chooses person B to write
3. person B has three days to post (or suffer dire consequences)
4. person B nominates person C to post, and so on
so who'd like to get the ball rolling?
sorry for the lack of activity lately. i was out of town when my brother visited, and this week moved on campus for YTI. i'll be fairly swamped the next few weeks, so i probably won't be able to nudge different people to post. how about this: we'll make this a free for all blog now. here are the ground rules:
1. person A posts... anything
2. at the end of the post, person A chooses person B to write
3. person B has three days to post (or suffer dire consequences)
4. person B nominates person C to post, and so on
so who'd like to get the ball rolling?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
from Diane
Hi Acfers!
I got a change of heart and I needed to tell you guys before school started. I am so greedy. I never thought I was until this past week. But of course God tells me that I am. I wanted to become someone BIG but now I have realized that God wants HIS name to be known not mine. I am completely nothing without God. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
God has opened my eyes to certain areas in my life that I have never realized until this week. Well, I am not returning to Emory University but I am going to transfer to Perimeter College and after a year, and pursue in nursing. (hopefully at Ga State) So I am able to build up my foundation but this time with God. During the whole time thinking about the situation I was in, I thought I was lost but I am found.
This journey is going to take more than just trust, but faith. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1 God has been teaching me about faith and how I should completely put my trust in Him. I had a lack of faith and God has made my path clear. Thank you for the cross.Luke 9:23-27 This week I have been worshipping God more than usual and the more I praise His name, the more I realize the areas I have to build up on. I want to be consumed by Him.
What an awesome God. How magnificent! Praise to His name FOREVER! He is always at work and all we have to do is listen and obey. Thank you so much, each of you guys for everything. There was a purpose and a reason why we met. No doubt about it. Just keep reading the Bible and follow Jesus. Have a great year at Emory and I will talk to you guys soon!
In Christ,
Diane Ma
P.S. I am going to miss you guys.
P.P.S. If there is need for another leader, I have one person in mind. She was my former roommate at Oxford and she loves the Lord and she will be a joy to work with. Tim knows her, Christine Lee.
I got a change of heart and I needed to tell you guys before school started. I am so greedy. I never thought I was until this past week. But of course God tells me that I am. I wanted to become someone BIG but now I have realized that God wants HIS name to be known not mine. I am completely nothing without God. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
God has opened my eyes to certain areas in my life that I have never realized until this week. Well, I am not returning to Emory University but I am going to transfer to Perimeter College and after a year, and pursue in nursing. (hopefully at Ga State) So I am able to build up my foundation but this time with God. During the whole time thinking about the situation I was in, I thought I was lost but I am found.
This journey is going to take more than just trust, but faith. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1 God has been teaching me about faith and how I should completely put my trust in Him. I had a lack of faith and God has made my path clear. Thank you for the cross.Luke 9:23-27 This week I have been worshipping God more than usual and the more I praise His name, the more I realize the areas I have to build up on. I want to be consumed by Him.
What an awesome God. How magnificent! Praise to His name FOREVER! He is always at work and all we have to do is listen and obey. Thank you so much, each of you guys for everything. There was a purpose and a reason why we met. No doubt about it. Just keep reading the Bible and follow Jesus. Have a great year at Emory and I will talk to you guys soon!
In Christ,
Diane Ma
P.S. I am going to miss you guys.
P.P.S. If there is need for another leader, I have one person in mind. She was my former roommate at Oxford and she loves the Lord and she will be a joy to work with. Tim knows her, Christine Lee.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
For the sake of His Body...
ACFers! How's everyone doing!! After much time away from InterVarsity stuff, I am back. As some of you know, my time was swallowed up for our Presbytery's CHI RO conference. What a blessed time! 225 students/counselors from Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida gathered together at Oxford College of Emory University for 5 days and 4 nights worshiping God. I am exhausted but rejoice in knowing that God used this conference. Check out my Facebook if you want to see some pictures...
But I am back to see what the Lord has been stirring up in all of you during my unexcused absence, and I see some deep theological reflection, but mostly good natured sharing of our walk with the Lord....
....as I was reading Colossians, I came to Chapter 1:24 and became even more amazed and astonished at Paul's statement. ...I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is his church. What could possibly be lacking in the afflictions of Christ? What could possibly be lacking for the salvation for those who believe? And can Paul really fill it up? By extension, can WE really fill it up? Hmm...
To preface, Paul is not saying that his afflictions add to the atonement of Christ. We understand from Paul's other teachings that his sacrifice is once and for all without any equivocation. Christ's sacrifice is not somehow lacking in efficacy. His afflictions & death is the only sufficient work to purchase salvation.
But there is true sense that Christ's work is just the beginning of the church and Paul's duty was to work out all the fruits & implications of Christ's death, resurrection, & ascension. So for the church to advance, he must work and sometimes suffer for the church that he desperately loves. Thus, he was working to see the fulness of the gospel worked out in his life.
And so should we! Afflictions are a true part of the Christian life. Struggling or suffering for Christ's sake builds up the body of Christ and strengthens all of us in our understanding of salvation. Why do I bring this up? Let us pray that we do not take the easy way out as we seek God's guidance as servants for ACF. Let us suffer not for our own sake--our reputation, our grades, our resources---but let us suffer for Christ. As we work for HIM, He will comfort us (cf. 2 Cor 1) and strengthen us with the same grace that he gave to Paul and the other disciples after him....
That's it! I hope this is not a downer. I just believe that we must continue to challenge ourselves to see HIM and not ourselves.....
Love you guys!
P Young
But I am back to see what the Lord has been stirring up in all of you during my unexcused absence, and I see some deep theological reflection, but mostly good natured sharing of our walk with the Lord....
....as I was reading Colossians, I came to Chapter 1:24 and became even more amazed and astonished at Paul's statement. ...I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is his church. What could possibly be lacking in the afflictions of Christ? What could possibly be lacking for the salvation for those who believe? And can Paul really fill it up? By extension, can WE really fill it up? Hmm...
To preface, Paul is not saying that his afflictions add to the atonement of Christ. We understand from Paul's other teachings that his sacrifice is once and for all without any equivocation. Christ's sacrifice is not somehow lacking in efficacy. His afflictions & death is the only sufficient work to purchase salvation.
But there is true sense that Christ's work is just the beginning of the church and Paul's duty was to work out all the fruits & implications of Christ's death, resurrection, & ascension. So for the church to advance, he must work and sometimes suffer for the church that he desperately loves. Thus, he was working to see the fulness of the gospel worked out in his life.
And so should we! Afflictions are a true part of the Christian life. Struggling or suffering for Christ's sake builds up the body of Christ and strengthens all of us in our understanding of salvation. Why do I bring this up? Let us pray that we do not take the easy way out as we seek God's guidance as servants for ACF. Let us suffer not for our own sake--our reputation, our grades, our resources---but let us suffer for Christ. As we work for HIM, He will comfort us (cf. 2 Cor 1) and strengthen us with the same grace that he gave to Paul and the other disciples after him....
That's it! I hope this is not a downer. I just believe that we must continue to challenge ourselves to see HIM and not ourselves.....
Love you guys!
P Young
Friday, June 22, 2007
alliances?
hey everyone,
sorry for the late thursday post (or early friday morning). it looks like the small group decision my be too big an issue to resolve through blog comments, as any of us would expect. i'll tell glenn it's probably too big of a move for the upcoming school year.
as for something else, i think as we explore the gospel in more dynamic ways, we'll want to find ways to escape the privileged bubble of emory. my question is do we want to work with a group such as the center for pan asian community services, or a non-ethnic oriented social services group.
sorry for the late thursday post (or early friday morning). it looks like the small group decision my be too big an issue to resolve through blog comments, as any of us would expect. i'll tell glenn it's probably too big of a move for the upcoming school year.
as for something else, i think as we explore the gospel in more dynamic ways, we'll want to find ways to escape the privileged bubble of emory. my question is do we want to work with a group such as the center for pan asian community services, or a non-ethnic oriented social services group.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
credits to Nike
hey all,
it's been a while, yeah? my apologies, after the mcat i sort of went on a mini-hiatus. i took some time for myself. i figured i was due some respite. just relaxing, resting, and just...breathing.
anyways, here's my picture of joy (for eunice's festive friday entry):
(click to enlarge)
it's been a while, yeah? my apologies, after the mcat i sort of went on a mini-hiatus. i took some time for myself. i figured i was due some respite. just relaxing, resting, and just...breathing.
anyways, here's my picture of joy (for eunice's festive friday entry):
(click to enlarge)yeap. i finally took it. i just hope i don't have to take it again. but we shall see in a month.
which very vaguely relates to my thoughts on today's "deep" entry: just do it. a week or so before i took the mcat, i had so many thoughts and doubts on whether this career field was right for me. i was wondering if i was ready to invest 10+ years of my life learning/training to become a doctor to help the seemingly poor (though rich in spirit, no?) inner city or developing countries. why do i necessarily have to become a doctor? couldn't i just become a social worker to help the needy? needless to say, i was getting cold feet.
i think we could all use some wisdom from nike (and possibly from Knocked Up, if you guys saw the movie), especially those christians living in the Bible belt where the Word becomes so dilute and twisted it loses focus on Christ. many parents, students, and even pastors mold the Bible into shapes that fit comfortably into their lives and it ultimately changes the face of THE church and christians in general. anyways, i believe it's so important for us living in the south to truly do what the Bible tells us to do. James said it best, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."(James 1:22) i strongly believe that for us to be set apart from the rest of the crowd is to ACT on what the Bible says. not merely to talk and study about it but to get up and do something about it. faith and deeds! if we're not convicted (not necessarily emotionally) to do something about our faith, what good is it? and how are we different from the rest of the world? we can say and talk all we want about Jesus but in the end, what difference have we made?
it's unfortunate but i'm a victim of this. when i read the New Testament (especially the epistles of Paul), it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. i begin to look at my life and think, i can't even compare to what Jesus is calling us to do. i've created this huge buffer of real self-sacrificing Christianity and comfortable suburban Christianity. so in sum, i need to learn to just do what the Bible tells me to do, regardless of the consequences. i have to learn to bite the bullet, jump in, and trust that God will carry me through.
i'll end with these verses:
most of this thinking came after i read irresistable revolution, if you can't tell.
tim
addendum: this is the fun i'm having tomorrow. yay!
which very vaguely relates to my thoughts on today's "deep" entry: just do it. a week or so before i took the mcat, i had so many thoughts and doubts on whether this career field was right for me. i was wondering if i was ready to invest 10+ years of my life learning/training to become a doctor to help the seemingly poor (though rich in spirit, no?) inner city or developing countries. why do i necessarily have to become a doctor? couldn't i just become a social worker to help the needy? needless to say, i was getting cold feet.
i think we could all use some wisdom from nike (and possibly from Knocked Up, if you guys saw the movie), especially those christians living in the Bible belt where the Word becomes so dilute and twisted it loses focus on Christ. many parents, students, and even pastors mold the Bible into shapes that fit comfortably into their lives and it ultimately changes the face of THE church and christians in general. anyways, i believe it's so important for us living in the south to truly do what the Bible tells us to do. James said it best, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."(James 1:22) i strongly believe that for us to be set apart from the rest of the crowd is to ACT on what the Bible says. not merely to talk and study about it but to get up and do something about it. faith and deeds! if we're not convicted (not necessarily emotionally) to do something about our faith, what good is it? and how are we different from the rest of the world? we can say and talk all we want about Jesus but in the end, what difference have we made?
it's unfortunate but i'm a victim of this. when i read the New Testament (especially the epistles of Paul), it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. i begin to look at my life and think, i can't even compare to what Jesus is calling us to do. i've created this huge buffer of real self-sacrificing Christianity and comfortable suburban Christianity. so in sum, i need to learn to just do what the Bible tells me to do, regardless of the consequences. i have to learn to bite the bullet, jump in, and trust that God will carry me through.
i'll end with these verses:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
-James 1:14-19most of this thinking came after i read irresistable revolution, if you can't tell.
tim
addendum: this is the fun i'm having tomorrow. yay!
Friday, June 15, 2007
imagine that you are me
jane, the lord of the rings obsessed (particularly the first movie) girl. then recall the first movie (if you've seen it, because apparently there are some people who haven't seen it yet) when they go to Lothlorien, it's towards the end when gimli (the dwarf) says "i have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox" and then gets an arrow pointed in his face. yeah so imagine that and whabam! you get why i was excited to be in this part of colorado.
if this post was a bit confusing, it's because i was a wee bit excited.
that's me in the blue hat and my mom in the red jacket in aspen, co.
if this post was a bit confusing, it's because i was a wee bit excited.
that's me in the blue hat and my mom in the red jacket in aspen, co.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
happy festive friday!
hi guys. how are yall doing? i hope you're doing well. festive friday today will ask a bit more involvement, so i hope you're up for it! it'll also require that you make another individual post (rather than hit reply with comment to this post). feel free to take your time--as you've prob noticed, i take my sweet time responding to posts= P--as this may require you to do a little thinking/hunting if it's something that's not already been done yet.
OKAY, so enough with the cryptic intro--for me, festive = fun, happy, etc. in light of that, please post a photo taken this summer of something that has made you happy and explain to us what the picture is and why it makes/has made you happy. here i go with mine:
this little piece of my hometown is called pioneer courthouse square. it's in the middle of downtown portland and a block away from where i'm working this summer. this makes me happy because i come here to sit and eat lunch and looking at flowers while eating food, i've discovered, is a highly pleasurable experience.
this courtyard is sort if a funny little anomoly in downtown portland. the rest of downtown definitely doesn't look this pretty or lively. in particular, there's all these flowers and trees set up because there's gonna be a sale in a couple weeks or something. anyhow, the designers thought it appropriate (i guess?) to add some plastic deers to the flowery landscape so there are random plastic deer all around (visible if you enlargen the pic).
anyway, around noon everyday, tons of people come out and sit on the steps and eat lunch, feed the pidgeons, talk on their cell phones, or just sit and soak up the sun. they've made a faux-grassy knoll (ah yes, which we need since we're sooo urban= ) that some people sprawl out and take naps on. one time i saw someone standing atop the knoll holding a sign over their head that said "free hugs." pioneer courthouse square draws a mix of bums, ceos, hippies, skaters, pregnant moms and starbucks drinking messenger bag toting types. it's great people watching. i'm getting acquainted with the heart of my hometown for the first time and it's been fun.
[p.s. tim--hope your mcat goes well!]
OKAY, so enough with the cryptic intro--for me, festive = fun, happy, etc. in light of that, please post a photo taken this summer of something that has made you happy and explain to us what the picture is and why it makes/has made you happy. here i go with mine:
this little piece of my hometown is called pioneer courthouse square. it's in the middle of downtown portland and a block away from where i'm working this summer. this makes me happy because i come here to sit and eat lunch and looking at flowers while eating food, i've discovered, is a highly pleasurable experience.this courtyard is sort if a funny little anomoly in downtown portland. the rest of downtown definitely doesn't look this pretty or lively. in particular, there's all these flowers and trees set up because there's gonna be a sale in a couple weeks or something. anyhow, the designers thought it appropriate (i guess?) to add some plastic deers to the flowery landscape so there are random plastic deer all around (visible if you enlargen the pic).
anyway, around noon everyday, tons of people come out and sit on the steps and eat lunch, feed the pidgeons, talk on their cell phones, or just sit and soak up the sun. they've made a faux-grassy knoll (ah yes, which we need since we're sooo urban= ) that some people sprawl out and take naps on. one time i saw someone standing atop the knoll holding a sign over their head that said "free hugs." pioneer courthouse square draws a mix of bums, ceos, hippies, skaters, pregnant moms and starbucks drinking messenger bag toting types. it's great people watching. i'm getting acquainted with the heart of my hometown for the first time and it's been fun.
[p.s. tim--hope your mcat goes well!]
Monday, June 11, 2007
interrupting our schedule
hey all,
this is a discussion that will sort of break our routine but it's fairly important for planning purposes not just for ACF but all emory IV. during chapter camp, there was some talk among the emory groups about joining our small groups across chapters. what are your thoughts?
here's the thinking, in glenn's words:
yes, this would be for small groups across all fellowships that are part of IVCF. The idea would be to have one common small group program for IVCFers. Each small group would intentionally choose an area of campus to reach as a mission field and we would organize, pray, train and celebrate what happens in our small groups together.
I could see organizing it in such a way that there are still groups that focus on reaching black students or Asian/Asian-American students, but also groups with a mix of members focused on reaching a particular dorm or department or Clairmont Tower floor. Greek IV house ministries could also be seen as a special case of missional groups focused on reaching Greek houses (where it is essential that all small group members be in the house).
this is a discussion that will sort of break our routine but it's fairly important for planning purposes not just for ACF but all emory IV. during chapter camp, there was some talk among the emory groups about joining our small groups across chapters. what are your thoughts?
here's the thinking, in glenn's words:
yes, this would be for small groups across all fellowships that are part of IVCF. The idea would be to have one common small group program for IVCFers. Each small group would intentionally choose an area of campus to reach as a mission field and we would organize, pray, train and celebrate what happens in our small groups together.
I could see organizing it in such a way that there are still groups that focus on reaching black students or Asian/Asian-American students, but also groups with a mix of members focused on reaching a particular dorm or department or Clairmont Tower floor. Greek IV house ministries could also be seen as a special case of missional groups focused on reaching Greek houses (where it is essential that all small group members be in the house).
Friday, June 8, 2007
Danny said I could share anything....
well he didn't exactly say that but I'll take the liberty to do so anyway. I wanted to share with you the recent exploits of Billy Donovan. Most of you probably have never heard of dear old Billy, but he is a man near and dear to the hearts of all Gator fans. Billy led the Gators to two consecutive national basketball championships with a starting five that no one noticed until two years ago. Recently he felt the lure of coaching Pro-Ball for the Orlando Magic, a team that has lost its identity since its Shaq and Penny Hardaway glory days.
Last Thursday he appeared excited to move on to the (more lucrative) "next level" of coaching. However, the next day, sporting fans saw an about face: apparently poor Billy had followed his head instead of his heart. Donovan publicly stated his desire to remain with the Florida Gators, afterall he and his family had spent 11 years among the Gator faithful. The sporting nation was shocked if not highly amused (the Gators aren't exactly the most popular athletes, simply because they rock, of course). The Orlando Magic were not in the least amused and ecked out a deal with Billy that forbids him from coaching any NBA team for the next fives years.
I share this with you not only because I am an insane Gator fan, that you already knew, but because I wanted to share one of my pet peeves, flipfloppers, and also one of the traits I really admire, consistency. Consistency is an admirable characteristic in any person, and something I really try to achieve everyday. Consistency reflects commitment and commitment is HUGE when it comes to relationships (whether among friends, special friends, or family). But consistency is probably the biggest indicator of discipline. In our relationships with God, consistency is one of the hardest aspects and requires an extraordinary amount of discipline. Maybe for some it's only something that comes with age, but for others it's a gift. I've been trying to be more disciplined in QT, Meditation, and Prayer, but there's a fine line between doing something out of routine and doing something out of desire.
Just something I wanted to share. BUT there's more! HAH.
I want to know the traits that you guys admire and hope to obtain, specifically with regard to your relationship with God.
And a little bit of fun on youtube.com. His accent is pretty good.
Last Thursday he appeared excited to move on to the (more lucrative) "next level" of coaching. However, the next day, sporting fans saw an about face: apparently poor Billy had followed his head instead of his heart. Donovan publicly stated his desire to remain with the Florida Gators, afterall he and his family had spent 11 years among the Gator faithful. The sporting nation was shocked if not highly amused (the Gators aren't exactly the most popular athletes, simply because they rock, of course). The Orlando Magic were not in the least amused and ecked out a deal with Billy that forbids him from coaching any NBA team for the next fives years.
I share this with you not only because I am an insane Gator fan, that you already knew, but because I wanted to share one of my pet peeves, flipfloppers, and also one of the traits I really admire, consistency. Consistency is an admirable characteristic in any person, and something I really try to achieve everyday. Consistency reflects commitment and commitment is HUGE when it comes to relationships (whether among friends, special friends, or family). But consistency is probably the biggest indicator of discipline. In our relationships with God, consistency is one of the hardest aspects and requires an extraordinary amount of discipline. Maybe for some it's only something that comes with age, but for others it's a gift. I've been trying to be more disciplined in QT, Meditation, and Prayer, but there's a fine line between doing something out of routine and doing something out of desire.
Just something I wanted to share. BUT there's more! HAH.
I want to know the traits that you guys admire and hope to obtain, specifically with regard to your relationship with God.
And a little bit of fun on youtube.com. His accent is pretty good.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
colossians 1
so we're a bit behind on reading, and i may have been ambitious about scripture memory, but take a few moments to read colossians 1 before proceeding.
here's a few things i noticed. i like bullet points.
• the faith of the church is famous because it bears fruit
• the faith of the church is derived from hope in the future
• because the church is doing well, paul continues to pray for them
• v10-12 tells us how to please God
• the matchless supremacy of Jesus the Son
• the fullness of God dwells in Christ
• reconciliation and redemption happen through Christ
• the full word of God = Christ in you, the hope of glory
re: ACF, our efforts must draw inspiration from that idea-- Christ in us, the hope of glory. our decisions and actions in life are no longer determined by the past, but rather by our future. how will we let our future shape and realize our present?
thoughts?
here's a few things i noticed. i like bullet points.
• the faith of the church is famous because it bears fruit
• the faith of the church is derived from hope in the future
• because the church is doing well, paul continues to pray for them
• v10-12 tells us how to please God
• the matchless supremacy of Jesus the Son
• the fullness of God dwells in Christ
• reconciliation and redemption happen through Christ
• the full word of God = Christ in you, the hope of glory
re: ACF, our efforts must draw inspiration from that idea-- Christ in us, the hope of glory. our decisions and actions in life are no longer determined by the past, but rather by our future. how will we let our future shape and realize our present?
thoughts?
Sunday, June 3, 2007
musings
hey all,
sorry if i'm posting out of order but i feel like i need some clarity on ACF. i've been wrestling with these thoughts for a couple of days and i was wondering what your thoughts on these issues were. maybe i'm slow or not attentive because these issues seem to be very basic, at least at first glance. or maybe i've been too distracted MCATing. regardless, i'd like to hear some of your thoughts and possibly help me gain more knowledge and reshape my understanding on these issues. i'll try to make it as concise as possible because the more i write, the more complex and disorganized my writing gets (i basically ramble). here are some of the issues:
1) what exactly is ACF? yes, it's a fellowship group but what specifically does that entail? how close are we to the "line/boundary" (if there is one) between a college church and an on-campus Christian organization? based on our preliminary mission statement, we should be doing similar things a church ought to be doing-- building a "family" within acf and [hopefully] lead other students to Christ. i guess most importantly, does it matter what acf draws so close to being a college church on campus?
2) how involved do we want to get with fellow acfers' lives? this question might seem a little odd but are we looking to be almost a "frat/sorority" style of an organization or something on the opposite side of the spectrum, say...an anime club or something. i realize it's not black and white and we're probably aiming for the middle somewhere but if we want to encourage our acfers to grow in Christ, i think there needs to be a level of intimacy in acf, more specifically in small groups. does acf call for that level of intimacy or is that "going too far" for "just" a college Christian organization?
3) what's up with jca and acf? the majority of the time i bring up acf to other emoroids (emory students), more likely than not, they bring up jca and the whole ordeal. then they ask me if i'm mad at jca or something ridiculous like that. personally, i think it's great that jca is doing the work they're doing. yeah, they "took" members away from acf but is that necessarily a bad thing? they're doing the work of God and a lot of students are attracted to it so what's the big problem? is there a level of resentment between jca and acf? maybe we could do some sort of reconciliation thing on this and possibly do a joint event sometime with them.
my apologies if these things are supposed to be quietly assumed but some of these things are ambiguous to me at the moment. alright! well, hope you guys had a great sunday. i'm off to take another mcat diag.
p.s - are we assigned a certain day of the week to post for the entire summer? because i noticed we didn't have a Festive Friday entry and i was wondering if that's because it was me who didn't post...
sorry if i'm posting out of order but i feel like i need some clarity on ACF. i've been wrestling with these thoughts for a couple of days and i was wondering what your thoughts on these issues were. maybe i'm slow or not attentive because these issues seem to be very basic, at least at first glance. or maybe i've been too distracted MCATing. regardless, i'd like to hear some of your thoughts and possibly help me gain more knowledge and reshape my understanding on these issues. i'll try to make it as concise as possible because the more i write, the more complex and disorganized my writing gets (i basically ramble). here are some of the issues:
1) what exactly is ACF? yes, it's a fellowship group but what specifically does that entail? how close are we to the "line/boundary" (if there is one) between a college church and an on-campus Christian organization? based on our preliminary mission statement, we should be doing similar things a church ought to be doing-- building a "family" within acf and [hopefully] lead other students to Christ. i guess most importantly, does it matter what acf draws so close to being a college church on campus?
2) how involved do we want to get with fellow acfers' lives? this question might seem a little odd but are we looking to be almost a "frat/sorority" style of an organization or something on the opposite side of the spectrum, say...an anime club or something. i realize it's not black and white and we're probably aiming for the middle somewhere but if we want to encourage our acfers to grow in Christ, i think there needs to be a level of intimacy in acf, more specifically in small groups. does acf call for that level of intimacy or is that "going too far" for "just" a college Christian organization?
3) what's up with jca and acf? the majority of the time i bring up acf to other emoroids (emory students), more likely than not, they bring up jca and the whole ordeal. then they ask me if i'm mad at jca or something ridiculous like that. personally, i think it's great that jca is doing the work they're doing. yeah, they "took" members away from acf but is that necessarily a bad thing? they're doing the work of God and a lot of students are attracted to it so what's the big problem? is there a level of resentment between jca and acf? maybe we could do some sort of reconciliation thing on this and possibly do a joint event sometime with them.
my apologies if these things are supposed to be quietly assumed but some of these things are ambiguous to me at the moment. alright! well, hope you guys had a great sunday. i'm off to take another mcat diag.
p.s - are we assigned a certain day of the week to post for the entire summer? because i noticed we didn't have a Festive Friday entry and i was wondering if that's because it was me who didn't post...
Saturday, June 2, 2007
from diane
Hello ACFers!
To be honest I totally forgot about this blog. I have been busy with school and my internet at home is currently not available. So, I have not read any of the posts yet. Sorry.
Well, on a lighter note, I have been really just focusing on wanting to change my way of living, my attitude, and the way I perceive things for the glory of Jesus.
(For some reason, when I hear a Christian strayed away or when I see it, I receive strength to live out my life for the way Christians should be living and of course I get worried)--> I 'm not saying that I am the right person to follow or even listen to, but when my life or attitude reflect Christ, that is all I want other people to see.
1 Corinthians 10:24: "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."
MAN, I seriously lack this and I always concentrate on what I want, what I want to accomplish and what is in the world for me? This should not be the center of our hearts but with the God and His will, we are able to live a life for Him because we are His. The dreams and goals that we all have are obtained with Christ and the results are always better than what we can even imagine!
So, to keep this, we should all spend time with the person that made this available to us. Spending time in His word is seriously where our foundation should be. John 1:1-2 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
So the more you meet with Jesus everyday or second, your life is meaningful and we are full of life. YAY! :)
For example, it is in a way related to the concept of exercising.... or studying, sport, etc.
It takes time for humans to become good at something...so in that time we have to prepare and there is a lot of practice. What about practicing the Bible? With practice everyday, writing notes (on Sunday...I encourage everyone to write notes because we tend to forget..I know I do and later when we are able to reflect and look back at the notes when we need it), journaling......the Bible becomes more and more real to us.
BUT Exercising is very hard to start and to maintain a regular routine for everyday.
BUT once the person crosses over the line, to have a healthy diet, the person is able to enjoy and accomplish this goal. (I talk about exercising because I gained 10+ pounds in my last semester at Oxford College....Great huh?)
Anyways, if you have a stable daily routine to exercise.......to read the Word, then seriously we would all be jumping for joy and gladdness that Jesus is our Savior.
I am really hoping, when any one of us are down or depressed....etc, we would all have a verse in the Bible to say from memory. :D How Wonderful!
God is so wonderful that He gives us MORE than one chance to praise Him and to give our hearts to Him. So, from a Sunday service from the New Orleans trip I went on, the pastor mentioned about the fig tree in Luke 13:1-9 (please read, it's too long for me to write here).
The man with the fig tree did not destroy the tree right away but he gave it time to grow and fertilized it.
"The church is our fertilizer, it gives us nutrients."-pastor
This opens up the idea of having a second chance to do things better.
"We as Christians tend to not believe in second chances."--pastor (forgot his name)
This is SO true, after my "Dark Ages", I realized that I was unable to let go the sins I committed. Man, I shared this with the small group at Oxford. I hadn't thought about it until that second but man, I bursted up in tears. I realized that no matter how many mistakes I made, or will make, God will forgive me and He loves me no less but more and more because HE is wanting to grow me in His name.
So, this comes to repentance. After knowing this, I repented my sins and my heart had changed from then.
And from then on, I have been praying for a passionate heart. If the prayers we pray are for God, He will answer them.
To grow in our walk with God, to have a passionate heart, we all should PRAY, READ the BIBLE, and PRACTICE (meaning apply it to our lives and live it out!)
So in conclusion, we follow the examples of other Christian leaders to help us with our walk with God, and we feed our minds with the kingdom of God. Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
SO, hang in there, God knows your troubles, disappointments, failures, and everything BUT why is it we only pray when we need something?
We should also pray and praise God when our prayers have been answered and even without a reason, we should all be able to pray to God because HE is worthy and is what we were made to do.
P.S. Would you guys email me your address to dianema@gmail.com, so I can send you guys a copy of "The Present" and "Sharing Christ"?
Thanks.
To be honest I totally forgot about this blog. I have been busy with school and my internet at home is currently not available. So, I have not read any of the posts yet. Sorry.
Well, on a lighter note, I have been really just focusing on wanting to change my way of living, my attitude, and the way I perceive things for the glory of Jesus.
(For some reason, when I hear a Christian strayed away or when I see it, I receive strength to live out my life for the way Christians should be living and of course I get worried)--> I 'm not saying that I am the right person to follow or even listen to, but when my life or attitude reflect Christ, that is all I want other people to see.
1 Corinthians 10:24: "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."
MAN, I seriously lack this and I always concentrate on what I want, what I want to accomplish and what is in the world for me? This should not be the center of our hearts but with the God and His will, we are able to live a life for Him because we are His. The dreams and goals that we all have are obtained with Christ and the results are always better than what we can even imagine!
So, to keep this, we should all spend time with the person that made this available to us. Spending time in His word is seriously where our foundation should be. John 1:1-2 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
So the more you meet with Jesus everyday or second, your life is meaningful and we are full of life. YAY! :)
For example, it is in a way related to the concept of exercising.... or studying, sport, etc.
It takes time for humans to become good at something...so in that time we have to prepare and there is a lot of practice. What about practicing the Bible? With practice everyday, writing notes (on Sunday...I encourage everyone to write notes because we tend to forget..I know I do and later when we are able to reflect and look back at the notes when we need it), journaling......the Bible becomes more and more real to us.
BUT Exercising is very hard to start and to maintain a regular routine for everyday.
BUT once the person crosses over the line, to have a healthy diet, the person is able to enjoy and accomplish this goal. (I talk about exercising because I gained 10+ pounds in my last semester at Oxford College....Great huh?)
Anyways, if you have a stable daily routine to exercise.......to read the Word, then seriously we would all be jumping for joy and gladdness that Jesus is our Savior.
I am really hoping, when any one of us are down or depressed....etc, we would all have a verse in the Bible to say from memory. :D How Wonderful!
God is so wonderful that He gives us MORE than one chance to praise Him and to give our hearts to Him. So, from a Sunday service from the New Orleans trip I went on, the pastor mentioned about the fig tree in Luke 13:1-9 (please read, it's too long for me to write here).
The man with the fig tree did not destroy the tree right away but he gave it time to grow and fertilized it.
"The church is our fertilizer, it gives us nutrients."-pastor
This opens up the idea of having a second chance to do things better.
"We as Christians tend to not believe in second chances."--pastor (forgot his name)
This is SO true, after my "Dark Ages", I realized that I was unable to let go the sins I committed. Man, I shared this with the small group at Oxford. I hadn't thought about it until that second but man, I bursted up in tears. I realized that no matter how many mistakes I made, or will make, God will forgive me and He loves me no less but more and more because HE is wanting to grow me in His name.
So, this comes to repentance. After knowing this, I repented my sins and my heart had changed from then.
And from then on, I have been praying for a passionate heart. If the prayers we pray are for God, He will answer them.
To grow in our walk with God, to have a passionate heart, we all should PRAY, READ the BIBLE, and PRACTICE (meaning apply it to our lives and live it out!)
So in conclusion, we follow the examples of other Christian leaders to help us with our walk with God, and we feed our minds with the kingdom of God. Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
SO, hang in there, God knows your troubles, disappointments, failures, and everything BUT why is it we only pray when we need something?
We should also pray and praise God when our prayers have been answered and even without a reason, we should all be able to pray to God because HE is worthy and is what we were made to do.
P.S. Would you guys email me your address to dianema@gmail.com, so I can send you guys a copy of "The Present" and "Sharing Christ"?
Thanks.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
i've been praying for...
picking up from jane's thoughts, how about for our ACF time this week, we talk about how we are praying... both for ourselves and for ACF. just leave your prayer(s) as a comment and spend some time praying what others have shared as well.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
I lost my Chapter Camp folder
...and so I have very little details to go by in writing today's post. Which probably means that as I write, this post will not be about anything chapter camp related. I'm usually not this careless or forgetful but ever since junior year started, I've become less punctual, less meticulous, and less enthusiastic about things. On the flip-side, college has really opened my eyes to the breadth of His Kingdom. Although my overall approach to life has become lazier, my understanding of how and for what purpose He works has grown exponentially. The experiences I've had and the friendships I've stumbled upon have shown me that even in the remotest corners of our lives, the parts that seem so nonreligious and secular (redundant), God is there waiting for me to find Him.
Maybe this is constantly in my head because it was quite annoying, but at the Winter/Spring IV retreat in Gatlinburg, VA/TN (Eunice went too), the opening skit was about waiting One of the people performing would say something along the lines of, "I want to hear what God is doing in my life and how He wants me to serve" and then the other person would say, "Wait" and then there would be a LONG, like REALLY LONG, pause. My notes from back then don't have the specific passage but while leafing through the Bible (as in checking the handy-dandy concordance) I found two passages in Psalms and Isaiah that I think the skit was trying to express:
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him -Psalm 37:7-
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:31-
One of the questions from that night was what does it feel lik to have no other instruction than to wait? And, as the impatient and slightly ADD person that I am, I could only think of the futility of waiting. Yet the message pointed out that by working without rest we could very well fail to see the Big picture. And in so doing our actions show that we prefer and enjoy the good of the creation over the greatness of the creator. We focus on the simplicity of self over the complexity of community. And we carry out our agenda instead of God's.
Maybe I'm saying this because I have no experience planning something so far in advance; but I think we need to take a longer time praying and waiting for His ACF agenda. It's more difficult with everyone literally all over the world and the states, but the biggest and most profound lesson I've learned in college is the power and importance of prayer. Prayer to me is talking to God and asking Him to be the sole guide and protector of my life. It's an act of surrender and faith because who else can you turn and pray to during your most difficult times and about your deepest hurts? And who do you praise and give thanks to in your most joyful and content times?
So I encourage you all to take time out of your day (I have yet to find the discipline to pray in the morning everyday) to just talk to God. Ask Him questions, tell Him what you're thinking, ask forgiveness, give thanks and praise, just enjoy His presence through conversation. And specifically, pray for patience in waiting to see what He wants us to do. (The reason I'm uncomfortable with popcorn and one-person prayers is that my prayers are so scatter-brained that no one would except my Heavenly Father would understand, so my out-loud prayers are quite forced and awkward). But no matter how and when you pray, just pray.
Jane
p.s. Andy Stanley has a pretty awesome series on prayer, you can download it as a podcast on iTunes, just search for Andy Stanley and it should be under Northpoint or something like that.
Maybe this is constantly in my head because it was quite annoying, but at the Winter/Spring IV retreat in Gatlinburg, VA/TN (Eunice went too), the opening skit was about waiting One of the people performing would say something along the lines of, "I want to hear what God is doing in my life and how He wants me to serve" and then the other person would say, "Wait" and then there would be a LONG, like REALLY LONG, pause. My notes from back then don't have the specific passage but while leafing through the Bible (as in checking the handy-dandy concordance) I found two passages in Psalms and Isaiah that I think the skit was trying to express:
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him -Psalm 37:7-
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:31-
One of the questions from that night was what does it feel lik to have no other instruction than to wait? And, as the impatient and slightly ADD person that I am, I could only think of the futility of waiting. Yet the message pointed out that by working without rest we could very well fail to see the Big picture. And in so doing our actions show that we prefer and enjoy the good of the creation over the greatness of the creator. We focus on the simplicity of self over the complexity of community. And we carry out our agenda instead of God's.
Maybe I'm saying this because I have no experience planning something so far in advance; but I think we need to take a longer time praying and waiting for His ACF agenda. It's more difficult with everyone literally all over the world and the states, but the biggest and most profound lesson I've learned in college is the power and importance of prayer. Prayer to me is talking to God and asking Him to be the sole guide and protector of my life. It's an act of surrender and faith because who else can you turn and pray to during your most difficult times and about your deepest hurts? And who do you praise and give thanks to in your most joyful and content times?
So I encourage you all to take time out of your day (I have yet to find the discipline to pray in the morning everyday) to just talk to God. Ask Him questions, tell Him what you're thinking, ask forgiveness, give thanks and praise, just enjoy His presence through conversation. And specifically, pray for patience in waiting to see what He wants us to do. (The reason I'm uncomfortable with popcorn and one-person prayers is that my prayers are so scatter-brained that no one would except my Heavenly Father would understand, so my out-loud prayers are quite forced and awkward). But no matter how and when you pray, just pray.
Jane
p.s. Andy Stanley has a pretty awesome series on prayer, you can download it as a podcast on iTunes, just search for Andy Stanley and it should be under Northpoint or something like that.
Friday, May 25, 2007
on a lighter note...
hey all,
it's Festive Friday (yeap--as cheesy as it is, i've officially named our fridays)!! which means, to your dismay or otherwise, you guys get to be blessed with my awkward jokes! i'm sure eunice, jane, and diane remember all of my knee-slapping--sometimes quite literally. . . *pause*. . . haha?--jokes in the car. lol yeah, i'm definitely trying a little too hard here.
anyways, since i've been focusing on the mcat recently, i'm in a science-y mood so i'm going to pull out my science jokes from waaaay back when. my apologies if you guys have already heard these:
it's Festive Friday (yeap--as cheesy as it is, i've officially named our fridays)!! which means, to your dismay or otherwise, you guys get to be blessed with my awkward jokes! i'm sure eunice, jane, and diane remember all of my knee-slapping--sometimes quite literally. . . *pause*. . . haha?--jokes in the car. lol yeah, i'm definitely trying a little too hard here.
anyways, since i've been focusing on the mcat recently, i'm in a science-y mood so i'm going to pull out my science jokes from waaaay back when. my apologies if you guys have already heard these:
- a piece of sodium was walking down the street when he saw chlorine sprinting down the street. chlorine crashes into sodium and they are both in a daze.
chlorine asks, "sodium! i'm sorry. are you okay?"
"NO! i think you made me lose an electron!" sodium responds
"are you sure?"
"yes! i'm positive"
(this joke's really common but it's still a funny one) - a piece of sodium living in a test tube fell in love with a bunsen burner.
the sodium said, "bunsen burner, i absolutely melt when i'm near you."
unimpressed, the bunsen burner replied, "it's just a phase you're going through" - what's a book that a chemist absolutely cannot put down?
a book about helium
highlight the blanked lines to get the punchlines. i've always found these to bring out a chuckle or two from my peers so i hope you guys enjoyed them as well :]
also, while i was researching sc2 (IT'S OFFICIAL!!!) i stumbled across this comic i found to be hilarious. i wasn't sure whether if i should post it because frankly, it's not funny unless you're starcraft obessed korean. however, if you're curious just click here.
have a GREAT memorial day weekend! by the way-- any special plans? i'm going out of town for a short bit and then it's back to the mcat. okay well, feel free to post anything in the comments. i already know how extremely funny i can be...
God bless!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
mission statement
on the heels of eunice's post, let's talk about a mission statement. leave your ideas for different mission statements in the comments, and let's see where this leads. remember, our mission helps us to make decisions on where to invest our time and effort, what to emphasize, and what is just not within our scope.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
chapter camp
hey all. this is eunice. i'm excited to write my first entry in our blog and share about what jane, tim, diane, danny and i learned at chapter camp. i'm a fairly stream of conscious-type writer (especially when it comes to "sharing") so stay with me.
we attended the kingdom life track for the week and personally for me, i didn't really know what it would be about. i had a general grasp on what the kingdom of God is, but the track really helped to show us what the kingdom is about. each day throughout the week, we had two sessions in our track and then an evening session where everyone convened for worship and a main speaker. the theme of the week (not explicitly named, but from what i gather) focused on restoration--particularly how we as leaders in our chapters can usher in the kingdom of God through restoring broken places on our campuses. during the evening sessions we went through about the first five or six chapters of the book of nehemiah (if you haven't already, familiarizing yourself with those chapters will make this entry make more sense). these chapters are about how nehemiah went about the task of rebuilding the wall of jerusalem. the israelites had returned from exile to their city which was burned down and broken. particularly the wall, which had served to protect them from invaders and gave their lives some semblance of dignitiy, had been torn down and nehemiah began this enormous task of rebuilding.
the first session of our track titled "kingdom theology" laid out what is the kingdom of God. in my notes, i have jotted down: kingdom of God = God's rule coming to bear in a world of darkness. Jesus is the embodiment of the kingdom. several things clicked for me during this track. perhaps they have already clicked for you, but i found myself understanding a bit more about why Jesus talked so much about his Father's kingdom. as one of our track speakers said--and i can't quite recapture, but here's the essence of it--Jesus was essentially the kingdom of God (upon it's first arrival) walking around on two feet! (see luke 4:18-21) he went around changing the lives of people by reaching them in the darkest, most shameful and broken parts of their lives (i.e. sickness, poverty, being ostracized because of race, social standing, sex, etc.). so learning that Jesus was coming to their neighborhoods was Good News for these people. Jesus offered them an alternative not only from physical death but also from spiritual death.
in the evening, the track on evangelism challenged us to rethink about when we share the gospel message whether we feel like we're sharing great news with the other person or whether the experience more closely resembles us proverbially slamming them over the head with certain biblical bullet points. we were challenged to rethink not only our delivery, but also the core message that we are transmitting to others which, as you may gather from our track title, was about bringing God's reign to more and more areas of our lives, and particularly for us, our schools. by building relationships with people and understanding areas of darkness/brokenness in their lives, when we share about God's salvation plan for the world, we are truly sharing good news as we tell people of how God sent his Son to redeem people from sin that manifests itself in the forms of injustice, racism, broken relationships, poverty, etc., and how we as Christ's disciples carry forth the revolution he began by being the hands and feet.
i felt the need to share all the above in order to appropriately frame the discussion we had about our vision for acf next year. there's a summary of notes on the exec conference that details what we talked about, but essentially we want next year to focus on the kingdom of God and to shift to a new understanding of what it means to follow Christ and to examine that specifically as asian american college students. diane tagged our new vision as the "revolution," and perhaps that can aptly serve as our charge to understand God more deeply as individuals, shedding a superficial take on faith, as well as flourish in the kind of community that Jesus demonstrated that he intended for us to partake in.
we talked about ideas for large groups next semester (see document on conference) and following suit from the theme from chapter camp, we want to engage acf in topics that are areas of brokenness in our lives. one evening session touched on the topic of why intervarsity has different chapters. the speaker, glenn, referred us to nehemiah chapter 2 where nehemiah inspects different places on the wall, surveying the damage and seeing what must be done. in turn, we were asked to look at our campuses (it could also be applied more broadly to other contexts) as broken cities and glenn posed a question to us, asking, "where is your place on the wall?" as part of our vision, we want to incorporate more of our identities as asian americans at emory and what that means. it's not that the gospel becomes different to cater to us, but in it's universal impact it also speaks specifically to issues asians struggle with (i.e. pride, family brokenness, success, etc.). our vision for next year will help us better reach out to our particular part of the wall.
in all of this, as acf we want to learn together why we do what we do as christians and then go ahead and engage in the difficult task of doing it--not alone but together in community. this past year was one where the groundwork of community was laid out for acf. using that as a springboard, we want to grow in the knowledge of "thy kingdom come" and actually walk the walk to bring it ("thy will be done"). and underpinning our vision for all this will be communicating the importance of a real and personal relationship with God which translates into why we'll do/talk about all the things we're wanting to do.
do share your thoughts about the vision for next year and add anything i've missed. i also wasn't there for the last track and evening session, so if either tim, jane, or diane can fill us in, that'd be helpful, too.
we attended the kingdom life track for the week and personally for me, i didn't really know what it would be about. i had a general grasp on what the kingdom of God is, but the track really helped to show us what the kingdom is about. each day throughout the week, we had two sessions in our track and then an evening session where everyone convened for worship and a main speaker. the theme of the week (not explicitly named, but from what i gather) focused on restoration--particularly how we as leaders in our chapters can usher in the kingdom of God through restoring broken places on our campuses. during the evening sessions we went through about the first five or six chapters of the book of nehemiah (if you haven't already, familiarizing yourself with those chapters will make this entry make more sense). these chapters are about how nehemiah went about the task of rebuilding the wall of jerusalem. the israelites had returned from exile to their city which was burned down and broken. particularly the wall, which had served to protect them from invaders and gave their lives some semblance of dignitiy, had been torn down and nehemiah began this enormous task of rebuilding.
the first session of our track titled "kingdom theology" laid out what is the kingdom of God. in my notes, i have jotted down: kingdom of God = God's rule coming to bear in a world of darkness. Jesus is the embodiment of the kingdom. several things clicked for me during this track. perhaps they have already clicked for you, but i found myself understanding a bit more about why Jesus talked so much about his Father's kingdom. as one of our track speakers said--and i can't quite recapture, but here's the essence of it--Jesus was essentially the kingdom of God (upon it's first arrival) walking around on two feet! (see luke 4:18-21) he went around changing the lives of people by reaching them in the darkest, most shameful and broken parts of their lives (i.e. sickness, poverty, being ostracized because of race, social standing, sex, etc.). so learning that Jesus was coming to their neighborhoods was Good News for these people. Jesus offered them an alternative not only from physical death but also from spiritual death.
in the evening, the track on evangelism challenged us to rethink about when we share the gospel message whether we feel like we're sharing great news with the other person or whether the experience more closely resembles us proverbially slamming them over the head with certain biblical bullet points. we were challenged to rethink not only our delivery, but also the core message that we are transmitting to others which, as you may gather from our track title, was about bringing God's reign to more and more areas of our lives, and particularly for us, our schools. by building relationships with people and understanding areas of darkness/brokenness in their lives, when we share about God's salvation plan for the world, we are truly sharing good news as we tell people of how God sent his Son to redeem people from sin that manifests itself in the forms of injustice, racism, broken relationships, poverty, etc., and how we as Christ's disciples carry forth the revolution he began by being the hands and feet.
i felt the need to share all the above in order to appropriately frame the discussion we had about our vision for acf next year. there's a summary of notes on the exec conference that details what we talked about, but essentially we want next year to focus on the kingdom of God and to shift to a new understanding of what it means to follow Christ and to examine that specifically as asian american college students. diane tagged our new vision as the "revolution," and perhaps that can aptly serve as our charge to understand God more deeply as individuals, shedding a superficial take on faith, as well as flourish in the kind of community that Jesus demonstrated that he intended for us to partake in.
we talked about ideas for large groups next semester (see document on conference) and following suit from the theme from chapter camp, we want to engage acf in topics that are areas of brokenness in our lives. one evening session touched on the topic of why intervarsity has different chapters. the speaker, glenn, referred us to nehemiah chapter 2 where nehemiah inspects different places on the wall, surveying the damage and seeing what must be done. in turn, we were asked to look at our campuses (it could also be applied more broadly to other contexts) as broken cities and glenn posed a question to us, asking, "where is your place on the wall?" as part of our vision, we want to incorporate more of our identities as asian americans at emory and what that means. it's not that the gospel becomes different to cater to us, but in it's universal impact it also speaks specifically to issues asians struggle with (i.e. pride, family brokenness, success, etc.). our vision for next year will help us better reach out to our particular part of the wall.
in all of this, as acf we want to learn together why we do what we do as christians and then go ahead and engage in the difficult task of doing it--not alone but together in community. this past year was one where the groundwork of community was laid out for acf. using that as a springboard, we want to grow in the knowledge of "thy kingdom come" and actually walk the walk to bring it ("thy will be done"). and underpinning our vision for all this will be communicating the importance of a real and personal relationship with God which translates into why we'll do/talk about all the things we're wanting to do.
do share your thoughts about the vision for next year and add anything i've missed. i also wasn't there for the last track and evening session, so if either tim, jane, or diane can fill us in, that'd be helpful, too.
Monday, May 21, 2007
intro to colossians
i'd like us to imagine that we are the recipients of paul's letter to the colossians. this requires that we familiarize ourselves with the story of the church at colossae. so as an intro, i'm sitting at pitts skimming a couple commentaries which will hopefully help us connect to the people whom paul addressed.
colossae is located in modern day turkey, populated by phrygians first, then greeks, and finally jews after antiochus III settled two thousand jews there around 200 BCE. the people of the city then were familiar with diverse cultural and religious perspectives. the church itself (and the synagogues) reflected a free mixing of these influences-- phrygian nature worship, iranian astrology, mystery cults and hellenistic speculation.
fertile land surrounded the city, and wool became colossae's regarded export. the city benefited from being placed along a southern trade-route but was overshadowed by its two neighbors-- laodecia and hierapolis. colossae in comparison could only be a considered a town, but a town that likely shared in the wealth of the region. not much else is known of colossae, since an earthquake destroyed it in 61-62, and there has been no archaeological excavation of the ruins.
the church was probably founded by a gentile believer named epaphras. paul probably has never visited the church, nor any other church in the lycus valley (such as laodecia). the dearth of information regarding the city makes it difficult to reconstruct the conduct of church members beyond generalities of living in a pluralistic town under roman rule.
in the comments today, share any parallels you see between ACF and the colossian church. what do you imagine are some of the struggles the colossians faced as believers? how do you identify with their situation? how would you encourage or advise the church in colossae?
to help us enter the life of the colossians as much as we can, we're going to plod through colossians, somewhat slowly. i'd like to challenge each of us to memorize the passage for the week. that way, the words of paul will be on our minds throughout the week, and the lingering of scripture in our thoughts will allow the Holy Spirit to speak in different ways. so, today or tomorrow memorize colossians 1:1-14-- when you're watching TV, eating breakfast or lunch, whenever you have time. then next week we'll jump into that text and share our thoughts.
Friday, May 18, 2007
welcome
hello ACF leaders,
our idea for the summer is to use this blog to keep our team connected. here's an initial overview-- we'll try to have four posts a week.
monday: thoughts on the reading for the week
tuesday: personal sharing
thursday: ACF fall planning
friday: something random, fun, or silly
this summer we'll be reading two things together: colossians, then the irresistible revolution by shane claiborne.
to make this more interesting, i'll be asking different people to post at different times. and please comment on posts; the more conversation the better.
feel free to leave some feedback on what you think. oh, and does anyone have diane's email?
our idea for the summer is to use this blog to keep our team connected. here's an initial overview-- we'll try to have four posts a week.
monday: thoughts on the reading for the week
tuesday: personal sharing
thursday: ACF fall planning
friday: something random, fun, or silly
this summer we'll be reading two things together: colossians, then the irresistible revolution by shane claiborne.
to make this more interesting, i'll be asking different people to post at different times. and please comment on posts; the more conversation the better.
feel free to leave some feedback on what you think. oh, and does anyone have diane's email?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)