The next way AgIV will be "setting the table" together is our Christmas party on Friday. Pray for God to help us to invite our friends to the table, and that they actually come! Pray for logistics as we prep. Pray we would be welcoming to newcomers and risky in sharing our faith at the party. Pray students leave with fond memories of what God is doing in our community, ready to come back in the spring to invite others to "set the table" with them as family.
Also, I'm headed into an intense time of fund raising over the next month and a half, especially the week of Dec. 12-16. Please pray for me to be diligent and faithful to what God calls me to do, and to trust in God's faithfulness to provide for my ministry. Also, pray for some new monthly donors. This semester, God has increased my monthly support with gifts from generous donors, but I still need to raise $7500 by July 1st to be fully funded for the year. Would you join with me in praying for $650/month in new giving? It feels too big to ask, so I need some partnership in the faith. Thank you!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Giving Thanks
Praise God! He moved mightily at our camping retreat, Word in the Woods. Nov. 11-12 we studied the book of Jonah. We were able to find a solution to our cooking concerns with some creative meals. We had 14 AgIVers, several freshmen and transfer students new to our fellowship. We camped at Lake Somerville. Sadly, we couldn't see the lake from where we stayed because of the severe drought we've had. But we did have fun playing soccer in the lake bed and exploring the campgrounds.
Students identified with Jonah, how they run away from sharing God's good news. They identified with the Ninevites' desire to turn away from sin and turn towards holiness and God. And they received God's grace and power to head back to campus and respond to his invitation to mission.
Kyle and I drove to the Dallas area the Friday before Thanksgiving. We stayed with my parents and brother for the night, then flew into Birmingham, AL. We got to visit with Kyle's sister and brother-in-law, Allison and Tag, and our 2 nieces Emma and Aubrie. The girls were sick, but still adorable. After a few days, we flew back to Dallas, stayed with my family overnight, then drove to Texarkana, AR in time for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Kyle's mom, Robin, and her fiancee Floyd. Kyle's brother, Jason and Jason's girlfriend Kristal came to see all of us Friday. So it's been a family-filled week, catching up and eating tasty food.
Thank you for your prayers!
Students identified with Jonah, how they run away from sharing God's good news. They identified with the Ninevites' desire to turn away from sin and turn towards holiness and God. And they received God's grace and power to head back to campus and respond to his invitation to mission.
Kyle and I drove to the Dallas area the Friday before Thanksgiving. We stayed with my parents and brother for the night, then flew into Birmingham, AL. We got to visit with Kyle's sister and brother-in-law, Allison and Tag, and our 2 nieces Emma and Aubrie. The girls were sick, but still adorable. After a few days, we flew back to Dallas, stayed with my family overnight, then drove to Texarkana, AR in time for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Kyle's mom, Robin, and her fiancee Floyd. Kyle's brother, Jason and Jason's girlfriend Kristal came to see all of us Friday. So it's been a family-filled week, catching up and eating tasty food.
Thank you for your prayers!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Boundaries
I just finished reading Boundaries, by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I wanted to loan it to a student, but I’d only read the first half several years ago. So I reread it.
I know some who think it goes too far, that it’s not Biblical to set boundaries, and that the ideas in the book have been used to hurt people. I can see how that last one is possible, but the second half of the book focuses on ways to set boundaries slowly with lots of different relationships and areas of your life. The authors explained a balanced, Biblical understanding of healthy boundaries. I think what they challenge readers to do is a much-needed correction to our society’s way of dealing with conflict. And the church’s way of demanding more, more, more. The trick is balancing hard and fast boundaries with grace and love.
It was good for me to be reminded of areas of my life I need to set boundaries, especially with work and with myself. But I was also encouraged by how God has grown me in boundary-setting in various relationships.
I've been using some of the truths with students in discipleship. One student needed to hear that healthy anger is supposed to be a sign that someone has crossed a boundary and hurt me. Several others needed to know they were responsible to people, but not for them. I was happy to hand this book to my student, and I think many of us could benefit from the truth in Boundaries.
I know some who think it goes too far, that it’s not Biblical to set boundaries, and that the ideas in the book have been used to hurt people. I can see how that last one is possible, but the second half of the book focuses on ways to set boundaries slowly with lots of different relationships and areas of your life. The authors explained a balanced, Biblical understanding of healthy boundaries. I think what they challenge readers to do is a much-needed correction to our society’s way of dealing with conflict. And the church’s way of demanding more, more, more. The trick is balancing hard and fast boundaries with grace and love.
It was good for me to be reminded of areas of my life I need to set boundaries, especially with work and with myself. But I was also encouraged by how God has grown me in boundary-setting in various relationships.
I've been using some of the truths with students in discipleship. One student needed to hear that healthy anger is supposed to be a sign that someone has crossed a boundary and hurt me. Several others needed to know they were responsible to people, but not for them. I was happy to hand this book to my student, and I think many of us could benefit from the truth in Boundaries.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Students Taking Risky Steps
I'm sick. Again. I hate colds. They're just annoying. And mine tend to last about 10 days. Apparently I have the worst immune system in the world. I was pretty sure of that when I was in school and would have to take the full amount of days off allowed, and sometimes more, for being sick. At least with my laptop I'm able to keep working a little!
At our Core Team meeting last Thursday, we decided to make our meetings open to anyone who wants accountability and a chance to plan our other meetings. The leaders also came up with some creative ideas for using the rest of our structures to develop missional Christians.
Not so obvious risky, missional steps:
One of the students I'm discipling went on a date. She usually runs away from relationships (romantic or otherwise). She's scared, but is trying to trust God that he can teach her something through this, and that he'll protect her.
Another student I'm discipling asked me how I was doing and gave me advice. On Friday, I pointed out we had hung out for 2 hours and she hadn't asked a single question about me. It hit her kinda hard. She's learning to stop being a victim and to seek mutual relationships, instead of what she has now, where lots of IV students just try to help and emotionally shield her. I'm hoping she'll start asking Small Group members about themselves, helping them to feel a part of the community.
We had a fun party this weekend watching the Aggies play OU. We all started doing other things than watching the game around the middle of the 3rd quarter (it was soooo painful to watch), but it was still a fun party! I was proud of the student who planned it. He'd never thrown a party before. And he's very focused on his schoolwork, living in fear about losing scholarships; he took time away from studying to create community. It was a risk for him, and he stepped into it without hesitation. That's one more step towards him giving his life fully to God's mission on earth!
At our Core Team meeting last Thursday, we decided to make our meetings open to anyone who wants accountability and a chance to plan our other meetings. The leaders also came up with some creative ideas for using the rest of our structures to develop missional Christians.
Not so obvious risky, missional steps:
One of the students I'm discipling went on a date. She usually runs away from relationships (romantic or otherwise). She's scared, but is trying to trust God that he can teach her something through this, and that he'll protect her.
Another student I'm discipling asked me how I was doing and gave me advice. On Friday, I pointed out we had hung out for 2 hours and she hadn't asked a single question about me. It hit her kinda hard. She's learning to stop being a victim and to seek mutual relationships, instead of what she has now, where lots of IV students just try to help and emotionally shield her. I'm hoping she'll start asking Small Group members about themselves, helping them to feel a part of the community.
We had a fun party this weekend watching the Aggies play OU. We all started doing other things than watching the game around the middle of the 3rd quarter (it was soooo painful to watch), but it was still a fun party! I was proud of the student who planned it. He'd never thrown a party before. And he's very focused on his schoolwork, living in fear about losing scholarships; he took time away from studying to create community. It was a risk for him, and he stepped into it without hesitation. That's one more step towards him giving his life fully to God's mission on earth!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tweaks
My staff partners Ben and Jeff went to training for new staff on campus strategy last week. I haven't been able to hear from Jeff on what he's learned and changes he hopes to make - he's in Chicago. But I got to talk to Ben, and I'm excited by the "tweaks" we're thinking about for Aggie IV.
We're looking at making our Core Team meetings open to any student who wants to be a part of God's mission on campus. This could also help our Large Group and Outreach meetings. We need to help students, leaders and members alike, to take ownership of the mission, and planning and putting on those meetings should do that, theoretically.
We've also merged our co-ed Small Groups, and they met for the first time together last week. It went great! Please continue to pray that they "set the table" together, and invite their friends, classmates, and roommates to join them.
We're cutting our focus. I've been spending a lot of my energy trying to keep up with things that aren't moving us forward. And I've spent a lot of emotional energy on guilt over not being able to keep up with everything. I'm stepping back from putting on the Veritas Forum. I hope other staff, volunteers, and students will lead. We've also decided to hold off on launching a Small Group at Blinn until the spring at least. In the meantime, Brice and I are meeting to pray and ask God to lead us and prepare us, and we're trying to gather more support. With the Divine Experiment done, and the Greek and South Asian American Small Groups not needing too much help, I feel a lot more freedom to spend my energy on LaFe, our Latino American outreach.
Finally, we're focusing on "catalytic drivers," a term InterVarsity is using to describe events that will help propel the fellowship forward and keep vision at the forefront. Our next catalytic driver is Nov. 11-12 at Word in the Woods, a Scripture study camping retreat. So we're doing everything we can to invite students, and at the retreat we're going to call students to greater ownership of the mission - will they share the good news with the campus?
We're looking at making our Core Team meetings open to any student who wants to be a part of God's mission on campus. This could also help our Large Group and Outreach meetings. We need to help students, leaders and members alike, to take ownership of the mission, and planning and putting on those meetings should do that, theoretically.
We've also merged our co-ed Small Groups, and they met for the first time together last week. It went great! Please continue to pray that they "set the table" together, and invite their friends, classmates, and roommates to join them.
We're cutting our focus. I've been spending a lot of my energy trying to keep up with things that aren't moving us forward. And I've spent a lot of emotional energy on guilt over not being able to keep up with everything. I'm stepping back from putting on the Veritas Forum. I hope other staff, volunteers, and students will lead. We've also decided to hold off on launching a Small Group at Blinn until the spring at least. In the meantime, Brice and I are meeting to pray and ask God to lead us and prepare us, and we're trying to gather more support. With the Divine Experiment done, and the Greek and South Asian American Small Groups not needing too much help, I feel a lot more freedom to spend my energy on LaFe, our Latino American outreach.
Finally, we're focusing on "catalytic drivers," a term InterVarsity is using to describe events that will help propel the fellowship forward and keep vision at the forefront. Our next catalytic driver is Nov. 11-12 at Word in the Woods, a Scripture study camping retreat. So we're doing everything we can to invite students, and at the retreat we're going to call students to greater ownership of the mission - will they share the good news with the campus?
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
God Behaving Badly
Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist? That's the subtitle for the book I finished the week before last, God Behaving Badly by David Lamb. He seeks to answer that question and explores other negative ideas about God - violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant.
He focuses on the Old Testament because Christians and nonbelievers alike often have negative views of how God is presented there. I loved his conversational tone. His Biblical examples were intriguing and excellent. He didn't just write off the questions as evil, ignorant, or unfaithful. He addressed them with humor and care.
As you might guess, he comes to the conclusion that God is loving, affirming, and hospitable, not angry, sexist or racist. He challenges Christians to stop ignoring tricky passages and learn everything they can about a God who is much bigger than we can imagine. He believes as we do this we will find God to be fascinating, relational, and good.
He focuses on the Old Testament because Christians and nonbelievers alike often have negative views of how God is presented there. I loved his conversational tone. His Biblical examples were intriguing and excellent. He didn't just write off the questions as evil, ignorant, or unfaithful. He addressed them with humor and care.
As you might guess, he comes to the conclusion that God is loving, affirming, and hospitable, not angry, sexist or racist. He challenges Christians to stop ignoring tricky passages and learn everything they can about a God who is much bigger than we can imagine. He believes as we do this we will find God to be fascinating, relational, and good.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Prayers Answered
With the Area Team Meeting last week, and the Divine Experiment over last night, I've been enjoying some much needed rest. And God is so faithful and good! Thank you for praying.
I met with the students in conflict late last week. We talked about conflict resolution skills, assumptions, and boundaries. They still need to work through their anger and the ways they hurt each other, but they've been taking steps to love one another.
David did a great job teaching Steven how to co-lead a Small Group Bible study, and will be doing the same with another new member tonight. Ben has termed the men's Small Group the "bullpen" for you baseball enthusiasts.
At our Core Team meeting on Thursday night, we assessed weaknesses in our structures and discussed how to move toward health. We're planning on merging our two co-ed Small Groups and doing a whole lot more inviting. We're still figuring out logistics, but leaders were able to voice our weaknesses and throw around ideas for change.
We still need to strengthen Small Groups, especially the Blinn plant. Please continue to pray for us as we raise up missional leaders and reach new parts of campus, and a whole new campus!
I met with the students in conflict late last week. We talked about conflict resolution skills, assumptions, and boundaries. They still need to work through their anger and the ways they hurt each other, but they've been taking steps to love one another.
David did a great job teaching Steven how to co-lead a Small Group Bible study, and will be doing the same with another new member tonight. Ben has termed the men's Small Group the "bullpen" for you baseball enthusiasts.
At our Core Team meeting on Thursday night, we assessed weaknesses in our structures and discussed how to move toward health. We're planning on merging our two co-ed Small Groups and doing a whole lot more inviting. We're still figuring out logistics, but leaders were able to voice our weaknesses and throw around ideas for change.
We still need to strengthen Small Groups, especially the Blinn plant. Please continue to pray for us as we raise up missional leaders and reach new parts of campus, and a whole new campus!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Prayer Requests
I am super sleepy. When I first typed that, it came out sleppy. But I'm headed to Area Team Meetings for 3 days, and at least one of them will be solely for resting. My director, Josh Howell, is very wise - he knows that his whole staff team has been pushing themselves and not taking a break, so he gathers us in October and basically makes us take a break. I'm looking forward to it!
I'm leaving a lot of ministry behind though.
I'm leaving a lot of ministry behind though.
- Could you pray for our Blinn Small Group, starting to meet Wednesday evenings instead of afternoons? If this isn't the time God wants us to gather, we want that to be clear. There's lot of spiritual interest, just not a lot of free time among students on a commuter campus.
- I'm also leaving behind some drama going on with a leader and some core students - pray for grace, love, and the students to see situations with God's eyes.
- Since Ben Nelson, our new staff worker, is coming with me, he won't be there to co-lead the men's Small Group. David will be helping a new student learn the ropes of co-leading.
- Finally, I won't be here to do some much needed strengthening and resourcing of other Small Groups - 2 co-ed, LaFe (Latino), South Asian, and Greek (Pike fraternity). Pray God would give wisdom, creativity, and strength to the leaders to call members to "set the table" like family and invite others to the feast.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Update on my Laboratory Research
No, I haven't been doing any genetic research. I'm now over halfway through my 3 weeks of fasting and prayer for the Divine Experiment, and I wanted to give y'all an update! Kyle and I have held up well to a lot of temptations (especially this weekend right before my birthday, when we went to visit Kyle's mom and I met some of his family, and they served cheesecake - my favorite food!) That weekend, Kyle said, "What if we longed for Jesus as much as we long for the food everyone was eating today?" What if we knew he would satisfy us, and knew the food wouldn't?
God's grace is all over me getting up in the morning. As many of you know, this is a struggle for me. Beds are nice. And warm. And I just like to sleep. So getting up every morning at 6am to get ready, pick up a couple folks and drive to campus for a 7am prayer meeting is honestly a demonstration of God's power and goodness to me.
I've struggled to feel God's presence during the meetings though. I know he's at work; students around me are praying deep prayers of confession and longing. But the only thing I really sensed the first week was that he was going to tear down my pride and the structures I've built up around me to protect my self-image, like he ripped the dragon skin off of Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the book, not the movie.)
While we gave away icy pops at Blinn to let students know about our new Small Group Bible study there, a student asked for prayer. Then she asked if she could pray for me. I told her I had a lot of great things I needed to go do later that day, but I felt like it was too much. After she prayed, she told me I needed to do those things in God's strength. I said I was still trying to figure out what that looked like, and she told me I just needed to wait on the Lord.
So I'm waiting! Please pray for God to not just tear down my pretenses, but to also build up new ways of living in humility. And pray for it to happen soon - it's hard to wait!
God's grace is all over me getting up in the morning. As many of you know, this is a struggle for me. Beds are nice. And warm. And I just like to sleep. So getting up every morning at 6am to get ready, pick up a couple folks and drive to campus for a 7am prayer meeting is honestly a demonstration of God's power and goodness to me.
I've struggled to feel God's presence during the meetings though. I know he's at work; students around me are praying deep prayers of confession and longing. But the only thing I really sensed the first week was that he was going to tear down my pride and the structures I've built up around me to protect my self-image, like he ripped the dragon skin off of Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the book, not the movie.)
While we gave away icy pops at Blinn to let students know about our new Small Group Bible study there, a student asked for prayer. Then she asked if she could pray for me. I told her I had a lot of great things I needed to go do later that day, but I felt like it was too much. After she prayed, she told me I needed to do those things in God's strength. I said I was still trying to figure out what that looked like, and she told me I just needed to wait on the Lord.
So I'm waiting! Please pray for God to not just tear down my pretenses, but to also build up new ways of living in humility. And pray for it to happen soon - it's hard to wait!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Story Time
The Story of God, the Story of Us by Sean Gladding was simply an excellent read. He wrote about major stories in the Bible, but in a friendly invitational tone. He set up the Old Testament storytelling with a Jewish elder in Babylonian captivity calling his people back to God and the lessons of their history. He wrote the New Testament stories in the midst of a house church facing growing persecution but sharing the story with one another and newcomers. I was drawn in by the stories from Scripture, even though I've read most of them more times than I can remember. Gladding's style and approach, the story he set the storytelling in, kept me coming back. I don't know if it's a useful book for starting conversations with non-believers - one of my staff friends, Bethany at Rice, tried handing out a ton of copies while Sean Gladding was visiting her campus, but I haven't heard how it went. I do know that as a believer I was refreshed and inspired to take another look at stories I've started glossing over, and to read some of the Old Testament I can never seem to get around to studying.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A Divine Experiment
For the next 3 weeks, several of my students and I will be fasting from various things of our choosing (certain foods, entertainment, the phone or internet, etc.), and meeting each morning to pray. We'll be asking God to humble us, we'll seek his face, and we'll turn away from the things we've made idols out of. We're doing this with 9 other Christian organizations on campus, and I'm excited to see how God moves among us and through us. I'll keep you updated!
This morning, I managed to wake up and get to our prayer gathering before the 7am start time. I think it helped that my staff partner Ben needed a ride from me...
I've been enjoying looking through old recipes for soups that you can eat during a "Daniel Fast." That's a fast based on what Daniel did in the Old Testament when he was being trained as a servant for the Babylonian emperor. He and his Jewish friends were expected to eat foods that were "unclean," forbidden by God. He made a deal with the guy in charge that he and his friends would only eat veggies for 10 days, and at the end of it, if they were unhealthy, then they'd eat the food everyone else was fed. The veggie diet won out.
There are several variations on the rules, but I'm abstaining from meat, dairy, sweets, and processed foods. That leaves fruits, veggies, nuts and legumes, and unprocessed grains. I've done it before, and it's not crazy hard. Last time it opened my eyes to how much I depend on food to comfort, distract, and entertain me. And the sheer choices of restaurants blew my mind when I'd drive around. So I'm actually looking forward to the freedom and realizations that it'll bring, but I know I'll be feeling it when my birthday hits next week!
This morning, I managed to wake up and get to our prayer gathering before the 7am start time. I think it helped that my staff partner Ben needed a ride from me...
I've been enjoying looking through old recipes for soups that you can eat during a "Daniel Fast." That's a fast based on what Daniel did in the Old Testament when he was being trained as a servant for the Babylonian emperor. He and his Jewish friends were expected to eat foods that were "unclean," forbidden by God. He made a deal with the guy in charge that he and his friends would only eat veggies for 10 days, and at the end of it, if they were unhealthy, then they'd eat the food everyone else was fed. The veggie diet won out.
There are several variations on the rules, but I'm abstaining from meat, dairy, sweets, and processed foods. That leaves fruits, veggies, nuts and legumes, and unprocessed grains. I've done it before, and it's not crazy hard. Last time it opened my eyes to how much I depend on food to comfort, distract, and entertain me. And the sheer choices of restaurants blew my mind when I'd drive around. So I'm actually looking forward to the freedom and realizations that it'll bring, but I know I'll be feeling it when my birthday hits next week!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
A Good Way to Scare Your Husband
Read What Every Body is Saying!
At least it worked on Kyle. I kept pointing out different clues I was picking up from his and other people's body language. This bothered him for some reason...
I read the book to help me as I counsel and disciple Christian students, meet with non-Christians, and interview potential leaders. I hope it will help me tell when someone is holding something back, not so I can manipulate them, but so I may invite them to share what may be weighing on them. I hope it will also help me gauge a student's comfort level, so I can provide encouragement or wisdom. And, if they start exhibiting nervousness through their gestures, I'll know they're uncomfortable, possibly because they're telling a lie. And there's nothing quite so humbling as being caught in a lie - it can lead to repentance and transformation. I hope these new skills help me be a better servant to my students.
At least it worked on Kyle. I kept pointing out different clues I was picking up from his and other people's body language. This bothered him for some reason...
I read the book to help me as I counsel and disciple Christian students, meet with non-Christians, and interview potential leaders. I hope it will help me tell when someone is holding something back, not so I can manipulate them, but so I may invite them to share what may be weighing on them. I hope it will also help me gauge a student's comfort level, so I can provide encouragement or wisdom. And, if they start exhibiting nervousness through their gestures, I'll know they're uncomfortable, possibly because they're telling a lie. And there's nothing quite so humbling as being caught in a lie - it can lead to repentance and transformation. I hope these new skills help me be a better servant to my students.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Breaking the Rules
I finished this during NSO, but I didn't have time to write a blog post about it. Now that ministry has settled into a more regular pace, I wanted to share what I thought. Breaking the Rules by Fil Anderson was a freeing, enjoyable read.
His message of freedom from performance struck me. I appreciated his stories and the way he illustrated truth with them. I actually drew from his discussions on the woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14 for my Large Group talk earlier this month. Doing what we can for God is beautiful to him. Wasting our time, energy, and resources to be with him and follow him - that's what matters. And when the world, or even the church, judges you for being wasteful, you know the truth.
If you struggle with perfectionism, wish you could let go of the drive to find worth in your performance, experience desperation to be freed for intimacy with God, then I think this book is for you. He doesn't give a ton of practical help. But then, most of us who struggle with performance mostly need to start thinking in new ways and receiving God's love. And while that's terribly practical, I don't think tips will do us much good. We just start judging our performance in how well we're following the plan and how far we've come in fixing the problem!
His message of freedom from performance struck me. I appreciated his stories and the way he illustrated truth with them. I actually drew from his discussions on the woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14 for my Large Group talk earlier this month. Doing what we can for God is beautiful to him. Wasting our time, energy, and resources to be with him and follow him - that's what matters. And when the world, or even the church, judges you for being wasteful, you know the truth.
If you struggle with perfectionism, wish you could let go of the drive to find worth in your performance, experience desperation to be freed for intimacy with God, then I think this book is for you. He doesn't give a ton of practical help. But then, most of us who struggle with performance mostly need to start thinking in new ways and receiving God's love. And while that's terribly practical, I don't think tips will do us much good. We just start judging our performance in how well we're following the plan and how far we've come in fixing the problem!
Monday, September 26, 2011
A New Addition to my Resume
Guest Lecturer at Rice University. That's right! Friday night, I spoke at the Large Group for InterVarsity at Rice University. I drove down to Houston to share what I had learned from Luke 19:1-10, about Zacchaeus and our purpose.
Earlier that day, I engaged in some spiritual conversations with Aggies. Andrea Thomas, my chapter building coach and Associate Regional Director, drove from Austin to do ministry with me Thursday and Friday. We met with a Greek student interested in starting an InterVarsity Bible study in his frat (more on that as it develops - please pray for him!) and she brought the fun to our Core Team leadership meeting. Then 8 of us from AgIV and AAIV gathered Friday morning to pair up and ask spiritual questions to students we found on campus. Ben and Josh got to talk with a guy who was into philosophy, and was looking at Buddhism, existentialism, and nihilism. Andrea and David actually ran into some AAIV students who thought what they were doing was scary, so they did a mini-discipleship meeting. Cody and I got to pray for a single mom, and I'll hopefully be starting a GIG this week with a guy we met!
It's been a full week, especially since I was recovering from a nasty cold. But with a Blinn outreach, the new frat Small Group, a Christian artists group wanting to partner with us, 3 weeks of prayer and fasting with other Christian groups coming up, and the South Asian Small Group taking off, I am feeling God's blessings in ministry. Thanks for praying!
Earlier that day, I engaged in some spiritual conversations with Aggies. Andrea Thomas, my chapter building coach and Associate Regional Director, drove from Austin to do ministry with me Thursday and Friday. We met with a Greek student interested in starting an InterVarsity Bible study in his frat (more on that as it develops - please pray for him!) and she brought the fun to our Core Team leadership meeting. Then 8 of us from AgIV and AAIV gathered Friday morning to pair up and ask spiritual questions to students we found on campus. Ben and Josh got to talk with a guy who was into philosophy, and was looking at Buddhism, existentialism, and nihilism. Andrea and David actually ran into some AAIV students who thought what they were doing was scary, so they did a mini-discipleship meeting. Cody and I got to pray for a single mom, and I'll hopefully be starting a GIG this week with a guy we met!
It's been a full week, especially since I was recovering from a nasty cold. But with a Blinn outreach, the new frat Small Group, a Christian artists group wanting to partner with us, 3 weeks of prayer and fasting with other Christian groups coming up, and the South Asian Small Group taking off, I am feeling God's blessings in ministry. Thanks for praying!
Monday, September 19, 2011
I'm back with New Student Outreach updates!
It's been a month and a half since my last post. I can't believe everything's that happened! I've been sick this weekend, so I wasn't able to visit my mom like I had hoped. She had to head back to the hospital last weekend, but she's out again. With her illness, a new staff partner, new NSO activities, some students stepping up and others kinda fizzling out, it's been an NSO of ups and downs. Thankfully, God's been with me through it all. I'll be updating this blog quite a bit over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's my prayer requests and updates from New Student Outreach:
Pray for outreach events.
We will help students move in Aug. 21 and keep serving and meeting them for the next few weeks. Pray for growing relationships. Pray students start 3 GIGs (Groups Investigating God, seeker Bible studies). Finally, pray for our Small Group Leaders to plan risky new outreach events that draw many new students in.
Pray for 20 new students to join our fellowship. Please pray that some of these students are "missional," looking for ways to follow God. We specifically need a worship leader.
I was planning on speaking Aug. 25 at our first Large Group. But my mother will be in surgery for an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor on the nerve that runs from your ear to your brain. It's a pretty poor stopgap measure. They won't be able to get all of the tumor and there's a chance of minor facial paralysis. It's 8 hours and will take a month to recover from. First, please pray for healing beforehand. For my whole family, ask God for peace, comfort, and trust in him. Finally, please pray for Fern, UH alum and speaker at Breakthrough spring training conference, who will be filling in for me last minute. Large Group that night may be the only time a student comes to one of our events, potentially the only time they hear the gospel. Pray for open ears and ready hearts!
We had to ask for an exemption because TAMU says we are discriminating in leadership based on religion. Pray we're approved before we move to restricted status Sept. 1. Pray also for grace from officials for last minute requests to hold outreaches in busy places.
Our new student retreat Sept. 9-10, where we'll study Philippians. Ask God for 15 new students, 30 total, to attend from our fellowship. Pray for Linson, our speaker, to clearly call students to faith. Pray for staff to lead excellent inductive Bible studies with small groups. And pray students decide to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, and join in Christian community.
Pray for outreach events.
We will help students move in Aug. 21 and keep serving and meeting them for the next few weeks. Pray for growing relationships. Pray students start 3 GIGs (Groups Investigating God, seeker Bible studies). Finally, pray for our Small Group Leaders to plan risky new outreach events that draw many new students in.
Over 3 weeks, we gathered 250+ students' contact info, and we're still following up with them. We have at least 4 students interested in a GIG, with 1 starting this week. Our Small Group Leaders were bold to reach out, and made great connections.Pray for missional Christians.
Pray for 20 new students to join our fellowship. Please pray that some of these students are "missional," looking for ways to follow God. We specifically need a worship leader.
We have at least 10 new students involved, and many more checking us out. Some are very missional. One new student didn't seem that interested in attending CrossRoads until I mentioned we were studying Philippians. Another who is still checking us out feels like it's her life mission to serve people. Old and new students are offering their voice, guitar, djembe, keyboard, violin, and trumpet for worship. We have so many students volunteering to be on worship team, we may have more students leading than being led!Pray for August 25th.
I was planning on speaking Aug. 25 at our first Large Group. But my mother will be in surgery for an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor on the nerve that runs from your ear to your brain. It's a pretty poor stopgap measure. They won't be able to get all of the tumor and there's a chance of minor facial paralysis. It's 8 hours and will take a month to recover from. First, please pray for healing beforehand. For my whole family, ask God for peace, comfort, and trust in him. Finally, please pray for Fern, UH alum and speaker at Breakthrough spring training conference, who will be filling in for me last minute. Large Group that night may be the only time a student comes to one of our events, potentially the only time they hear the gospel. Pray for open ears and ready hearts!
My mother's surgery went miraculously well. The surgeons believe they got all of the tumor out, and there was almost no facial paralysis. I felt God's peace, and was glad to be there with my mom before and after the surgery. But there have been several minor complications since the surgery. Please continue to pray for complete healing. Large Group also went well. Thank you for praying while I couldn't be there.Pray for our relationship with TAMU administration.
We had to ask for an exemption because TAMU says we are discriminating in leadership based on religion. Pray we're approved before we move to restricted status Sept. 1. Pray also for grace from officials for last minute requests to hold outreaches in busy places.
David, a student leader, met with the administration for an hour, explaining our organization's purpose and how we try to carry that out. At the end, they said, "Well, it sounds like you need this exemption." And although there was lots of scrambling, we were able to find places to hold our outreaches in high foot traffic areas.Pray for CrossRoads.
Our new student retreat Sept. 9-10, where we'll study Philippians. Ask God for 15 new students, 30 total, to attend from our fellowship. Pray for Linson, our speaker, to clearly call students to faith. Pray for staff to lead excellent inductive Bible studies with small groups. And pray students decide to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, and join in Christian community.
We had 9 new students and 10 returning members from Aggie IV, and 80 students total from A&M, Rice, and University of Houston. I had a great time leading a Small Group over a couple passages in Philippians, and our speaker was excellent. 8 AgIVers made significant decisions in their relationships with Jesus. At least 1 student at the retreat decided to start following Jesus and another wants to learn more - but neither signed their names on the evaluations. Pray we find out who these students are!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Doing a Happy Dance!
I've raised 86% of my budget for next year! This means I can be on campus full-time during New Student Outreach in a few weeks. With committed monthly gifts, one-time gifts that have already come in, regular one-time gifts that have come in for the last 3 years that I can probably count on, and my escrow (unused money from last year), I've got $43,000 raised. I need $7,000 more, so please ask God to provide. I'm closer than I've ever been to being paid my full salary and having enough money for all my ministry expenses.
In the last 6 months, my area director, Josh Howell, encouraged us to live in holy discontent about unfinished fundraising. Way too often, I shirk fundraising, not really thinking of it as part of my ministry. I've allowed my fears and doubts about God providing to paralyze me. But I don't want my students to think that God can't provide. I don't want to see new Texas A&M staff struggle to raise funds, only to give up and finish their commitment to staff underpaid and overstressed. And I don't want to neglect ministry to donors and potential donors by failing to ask them to give sacrificially to God's Kingdom, either my ministry or elsewhere.
As I've lived in this holy discontent, I've seen God spur me on and provide in unexpected ways, stretching my faith. And strangely, the holy discontent about fundraising has led to contentment in my whole ministry - God will be faithful!
In the last 6 months, my area director, Josh Howell, encouraged us to live in holy discontent about unfinished fundraising. Way too often, I shirk fundraising, not really thinking of it as part of my ministry. I've allowed my fears and doubts about God providing to paralyze me. But I don't want my students to think that God can't provide. I don't want to see new Texas A&M staff struggle to raise funds, only to give up and finish their commitment to staff underpaid and overstressed. And I don't want to neglect ministry to donors and potential donors by failing to ask them to give sacrificially to God's Kingdom, either my ministry or elsewhere.
As I've lived in this holy discontent, I've seen God spur me on and provide in unexpected ways, stretching my faith. And strangely, the holy discontent about fundraising has led to contentment in my whole ministry - God will be faithful!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Heart of Racial Justice
Last week, I finished The Heart of Racial Justice by Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson. It was a powerful book on the subtle and not-so-subtle effects of racism, and racism's true nature: spiritual sin. They believe that because racism is a sin, it can't be simply educated out of us. Everyone, no matter their race, deals with deep pride which leads to ethnocentrism (thinking your ethnicity is better than all others). Everyone, no matter their race, struggles with fear for provision or protection, which leads to treating the "other" with suspicion and carelessness. These are sins, so we need to confess, repent, and seek forgiveness.
They had an intriguing new way for gaining freedom from racism, based on a healing prayer model. First, worship God. Then, affirm our true ethnic identities, and renounce false ones as idols. Receive and extend forgiveness. Renounce the larger spiritual forces that have allowed racism to flourish - especially the spirits of pride and fear. Embrace the fact that we are a new creation, made for partnership.
They had some intriguing and sometimes painfully true ideas about false identities we put on in regards to race: rage-filled, victim, model minority, color blind, or hip white person (the one I tend to try to cast myself as).
They also believe racism is peculiar to European Americans, because we have galvanized many ethnicities into one powerful whole based on our skin color (White), and not our birthplace or our culture. And we have used that power to clump others into categories based on their skin color.
Their call to be agents of reconciliation resounded in my soul. I long to see InterVarsity at Texas A&M become a place of learning to understand the "other," perhaps coming to desire the gifts of another culture for our culture. I want the scales to drop off our eyes, to see the ways privilege, pride, and fear have blinded Whites, to repent and to see God's power in our weaknesses. I hope that minority students can find healing from wounds, old and new, and find their God-given voice to proclaim justice, freedom, and love. I'm praying that God might use some of the tools in this book to make this vision a reality.
They had an intriguing new way for gaining freedom from racism, based on a healing prayer model. First, worship God. Then, affirm our true ethnic identities, and renounce false ones as idols. Receive and extend forgiveness. Renounce the larger spiritual forces that have allowed racism to flourish - especially the spirits of pride and fear. Embrace the fact that we are a new creation, made for partnership.
They had some intriguing and sometimes painfully true ideas about false identities we put on in regards to race: rage-filled, victim, model minority, color blind, or hip white person (the one I tend to try to cast myself as).
They also believe racism is peculiar to European Americans, because we have galvanized many ethnicities into one powerful whole based on our skin color (White), and not our birthplace or our culture. And we have used that power to clump others into categories based on their skin color.
Their call to be agents of reconciliation resounded in my soul. I long to see InterVarsity at Texas A&M become a place of learning to understand the "other," perhaps coming to desire the gifts of another culture for our culture. I want the scales to drop off our eyes, to see the ways privilege, pride, and fear have blinded Whites, to repent and to see God's power in our weaknesses. I hope that minority students can find healing from wounds, old and new, and find their God-given voice to proclaim justice, freedom, and love. I'm praying that God might use some of the tools in this book to make this vision a reality.
Monday, July 25, 2011
A Traveling Aggie
Sorry I've been gone for so long! I spent July 1-4 in Alabama with Kyle's sister and brother-in-law. And of course, our two ridiculously adorable, sugar-fueled, ecstatic-to-see-us nieces!
Then I stopped off in Dallas, while Kyle headed home to College Station. July 6, I left for Michigan with my family for my grandpa and step-grandma's 15 year wedding anniversary. Here's a picture of my grandparents:
I definitely wasn't hurting for rest and relaxation there. I gorged myself on fresh fruit, cheese, and desserts. Plus we had pasties - yum!
I had an unexpected layover in Chicago, but made it back to College Station on July 12. When I got here our wood floors were being sanded. (That's one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Ever.) Next morning, the subcontractor told me we wouldn't have access to the bathroom for 2 days straight. We quickly realized how smelly and uncomfortable that would be. We called our general contractor upset that no one had thought to inform us. Thankfully, he agreed to cover our hotel bill, so I packed up again to stay at the only hotel in town we could find with rooms still available. With a New Student Conference, a 7 man high school football tournament, and a statewide fireman training, things were booked!
We stayed there for our 5 year anniversary this weekend too. We reminisced and visited old places we lived, the restaurant we went to on our first date, and the chapel we got married at. We went to see the Harry Potter movie on Sunday, because we love all the Harry Potter books. Not so much the movies, but what are you gonna do? The woman who made our wedding cake also gave us a free cake topper. So much cake!
If you're looking for possibly the best cake with the yummiest icing, check out Cinderella Stories. Fair warning: we had to follow-up with them a couple of times to get all the details straight during our wedding. But now that we're married, we mostly just care that the cakes taste like heaven.
So that's my story, and now I'm back!
Then I stopped off in Dallas, while Kyle headed home to College Station. July 6, I left for Michigan with my family for my grandpa and step-grandma's 15 year wedding anniversary. Here's a picture of my grandparents:
I definitely wasn't hurting for rest and relaxation there. I gorged myself on fresh fruit, cheese, and desserts. Plus we had pasties - yum!
I had an unexpected layover in Chicago, but made it back to College Station on July 12. When I got here our wood floors were being sanded. (That's one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Ever.) Next morning, the subcontractor told me we wouldn't have access to the bathroom for 2 days straight. We quickly realized how smelly and uncomfortable that would be. We called our general contractor upset that no one had thought to inform us. Thankfully, he agreed to cover our hotel bill, so I packed up again to stay at the only hotel in town we could find with rooms still available. With a New Student Conference, a 7 man high school football tournament, and a statewide fireman training, things were booked!
We stayed there for our 5 year anniversary this weekend too. We reminisced and visited old places we lived, the restaurant we went to on our first date, and the chapel we got married at. We went to see the Harry Potter movie on Sunday, because we love all the Harry Potter books. Not so much the movies, but what are you gonna do? The woman who made our wedding cake also gave us a free cake topper. So much cake!
If you're looking for possibly the best cake with the yummiest icing, check out Cinderella Stories. Fair warning: we had to follow-up with them a couple of times to get all the details straight during our wedding. But now that we're married, we mostly just care that the cakes taste like heaven.
So that's my story, and now I'm back!
Monday, July 18, 2011
GTD - Do you know what it means?
Cuz I do! Kyle and I took the plunge and read Getting Things Done by David Allen. It's been out for years now, and I've always thought it could be a useful tool for me. Kyle didn't know there was a book, and when he found out, we had to borrow it from Shiloh.
I'm starting to implement it. I need to set aside a couple days to go through all my piles and figure out what to do with everything. According to Allen, there are 8 options: trash it, file it for reference, make it a next action, put it on your calendar, put it in a tickler file, delegate it, put it on a someday/maybe list, or organize it as a project.
Although I haven't even organized everything yet, I started implementing the idea of the "next action." Instead of writing vague words on my to-do list that trigger my memory but aren't descriptive, or writing a step that needs to happen down the line but isn't the absolute next thing I need to do, I actually write down the next action I need to take. It's been great for my mental health.
I'm starting to implement it. I need to set aside a couple days to go through all my piles and figure out what to do with everything. According to Allen, there are 8 options: trash it, file it for reference, make it a next action, put it on your calendar, put it in a tickler file, delegate it, put it on a someday/maybe list, or organize it as a project.
Although I haven't even organized everything yet, I started implementing the idea of the "next action." Instead of writing vague words on my to-do list that trigger my memory but aren't descriptive, or writing a step that needs to happen down the line but isn't the absolute next thing I need to do, I actually write down the next action I need to take. It's been great for my mental health.
Friday, July 1, 2011
I Found a Good Book!
I Once Was Lost was a quick read, and fantastic! Now, all I need to do is apply it to my ministry - easier said than done.
Don Everts and Doug Schaupp share their experiences ministering in the post-modern college world, specifically in regards to evangelism. The 5 "thresholds" a non-Christian can go through before they decide to follow Jesus are: distrusting a Christian to trust, apathy to curiosity about spiritual questions and Jesus, closed towards life change to open, meandering to seeking, and death to Kingdom life.
They cover steps to take in each threshold to help a non-Christian walk through it, and caution about what is unhelpful during that time. And in true postmodern fashion, they uphold the mystery and uncertainty of the whole process, making it clear that there are no guarantees and that the Spirit is the one at work.
I'm trying to think through where most non-Christian Aggies are, and what kinds of events, activities, and training we need to plan to engage with people in each of the 5 thresholds. Any ideas, brilliant or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stuck in my typical InterVarsity ministry answers, and would love anything outside my box to consider.
Don Everts and Doug Schaupp share their experiences ministering in the post-modern college world, specifically in regards to evangelism. The 5 "thresholds" a non-Christian can go through before they decide to follow Jesus are: distrusting a Christian to trust, apathy to curiosity about spiritual questions and Jesus, closed towards life change to open, meandering to seeking, and death to Kingdom life.
They cover steps to take in each threshold to help a non-Christian walk through it, and caution about what is unhelpful during that time. And in true postmodern fashion, they uphold the mystery and uncertainty of the whole process, making it clear that there are no guarantees and that the Spirit is the one at work.
I'm trying to think through where most non-Christian Aggies are, and what kinds of events, activities, and training we need to plan to engage with people in each of the 5 thresholds. Any ideas, brilliant or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stuck in my typical InterVarsity ministry answers, and would love anything outside my box to consider.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Hearing God
Back in May, I finished reading Hearing God by Dallas Willard, and I loved it. And now, only 2 months later, I'm reviewing it! It was a great reminder about a lot of what I've learned, and it shored up some doubts and misconceptions I've accumulated.
Some of the points I really appreciated:
I loved some of the simple encouragements to deepen your conversation with the Lord, like meditating on Scripture, paying attention to what's happening in our lives and hearts, taking everything before God, and listening intentionally and carefully.
Finally, it rang true with me that God's communication is more about living life with us, not giving us infallible guidance. I need that to be my purpose in more of my prayers.
Some of the points I really appreciated:
Willard pointed out "we must enter into our study of it [the Bible] on the assumption that the experiences recorded there are basically of the same type as ours would have been if we had been there (p. 35)." Without that assumption, the Bible stories can taunt us with their false promise of miraculous communion with God. Or worse, we brush over those stories and the Bible becomes a book of doctrine. "We must make the conscious effort to think that such things might happen to us and imagine what it would be like (p. 90)."It dragged a little sometimes. The chapter "Our Communicating Cosmos" felt like a shallow introduction into several big questions - whether God would, could, or should communicate with us.
Willard argues that when God communicates to us "subjectively" it's most commonly through "our own spirits, thoughts and feelings (p. 96-100)." He believes this way God can redeems us more, because "it most engages the faculties of free, intelligent beings involved in the work of God as his colaborers and friends." I felt encouraged but still hesitant to believe that idea wholeheartedly. Sometimes I feel we've shut out God's voice through the miraculous, so he can only communicate to us through the mundane. Any thoughts?
"God created, God rules, and God redeems through his word... Through our words we literally give to others a piece of our mind... Through words, soul impacts soul, sometimes with a great spiritual force (p. 118-119)." I enjoyed his discussions of Jesus and the Bible as God's Word, and also the way our words affect God's Kingdom and one another.
I loved some of the simple encouragements to deepen your conversation with the Lord, like meditating on Scripture, paying attention to what's happening in our lives and hearts, taking everything before God, and listening intentionally and carefully.
Finally, it rang true with me that God's communication is more about living life with us, not giving us infallible guidance. I need that to be my purpose in more of my prayers.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
For Those of Us Who Hate Conflict
I just finished Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen. They come at the subject from a business perspective, working with the Harvard Negotiation Project, but their book encompasses all sorts of difficult conversations.
They pinpointed the three underlying subjects that get people into trouble when they're not raised - what actually happened, feelings, and identity. They covered how we often assume our opponent's intentions and that the other person knows the impact they've had in our life, and assume that our intentions were completely innocent and that we know the full impact in their life. Also, when we don't identify and bring up our feelings (that's plural for a reason), they fester and leak out somewhere eventually. And our identity is terrifying to bring up, but often difficult conversations flow out of a threat to our perceived image of ourselves.
They offered some great tools: focus on contribution instead of blame, shift your purpose for having the conversation to learning and sharing, and reframe accusations into feelings and truth into perceptions.
It was well worth the read. I'm feeling encouraged to have some difficult conversations I've been avoiding!
They pinpointed the three underlying subjects that get people into trouble when they're not raised - what actually happened, feelings, and identity. They covered how we often assume our opponent's intentions and that the other person knows the impact they've had in our life, and assume that our intentions were completely innocent and that we know the full impact in their life. Also, when we don't identify and bring up our feelings (that's plural for a reason), they fester and leak out somewhere eventually. And our identity is terrifying to bring up, but often difficult conversations flow out of a threat to our perceived image of ourselves.
They offered some great tools: focus on contribution instead of blame, shift your purpose for having the conversation to learning and sharing, and reframe accusations into feelings and truth into perceptions.
It was well worth the read. I'm feeling encouraged to have some difficult conversations I've been avoiding!
Oh the Humidity!
I got to visit lots of friends in Houston this weekend. Thankfully, we got to catch up inside, because man, Houston is stinking hot. And it's not even full swing summer yet. Eek!
I met Steven '09 for Chipotle lunch, and I got to hear about Pioneer Bible Translators. He's thinking about becoming a linguist, living with a group of people who have never heard of Jesus, translating the Bible into a language we've never even heard of, and planting a church there.
Then I hung out with Prisca '09 at Starbucks, where we talked about family, church, and growing in your ethnicity and living cross-culturally.
I met Colin '07 for dinner at Thai Gourmet, where I got to know his new wife Sara better and hear about their honeymoon plans. Newlyweds are so fun! We shared pictures of recent adventures - me with the home remodel and traipsing around Europe, Colin climbing a mountain for his bachelor party, and he and Sara roughing it in Alaska on a family vacation a while back.
Rhys '08 and Rachel '09 kindly put me up for the night and fed me apple pie for dessert and oatmeal fruit crisp for breakfast. I got to hear about medical school and crazy bio lab building projects. And I got to share lots of stories about Jack, Kyle, my church, and InterVarsity.
Finally, I headed to Second Baptist Church with Sean '07 and Kathleen '07. I got to meet their sweet baby girl, eat some Sunday school potluck, and talk about being married, figuring out anger, parenting, and welcoming the 2 Chinese students who will be staying with them for 2 1/2 weeks in July.
It was an Aggie-filled weekend, one of the best kinds of weekends in my opinion. I actually asked all of them to pray and consider partnering with my ministry with InterVarsity at A&M in different ways, and everyone listened to what I said and was open to praying about it. It was really encouraging. Even if everyone decides they need to say no, I knew everyone was actually going to think about it. Thanks for praying for my fundraising this summer. God's at work!
I met Steven '09 for Chipotle lunch, and I got to hear about Pioneer Bible Translators. He's thinking about becoming a linguist, living with a group of people who have never heard of Jesus, translating the Bible into a language we've never even heard of, and planting a church there.
Then I hung out with Prisca '09 at Starbucks, where we talked about family, church, and growing in your ethnicity and living cross-culturally.
I met Colin '07 for dinner at Thai Gourmet, where I got to know his new wife Sara better and hear about their honeymoon plans. Newlyweds are so fun! We shared pictures of recent adventures - me with the home remodel and traipsing around Europe, Colin climbing a mountain for his bachelor party, and he and Sara roughing it in Alaska on a family vacation a while back.
Rhys '08 and Rachel '09 kindly put me up for the night and fed me apple pie for dessert and oatmeal fruit crisp for breakfast. I got to hear about medical school and crazy bio lab building projects. And I got to share lots of stories about Jack, Kyle, my church, and InterVarsity.
Finally, I headed to Second Baptist Church with Sean '07 and Kathleen '07. I got to meet their sweet baby girl, eat some Sunday school potluck, and talk about being married, figuring out anger, parenting, and welcoming the 2 Chinese students who will be staying with them for 2 1/2 weeks in July.
It was an Aggie-filled weekend, one of the best kinds of weekends in my opinion. I actually asked all of them to pray and consider partnering with my ministry with InterVarsity at A&M in different ways, and everyone listened to what I said and was open to praying about it. It was really encouraging. Even if everyone decides they need to say no, I knew everyone was actually going to think about it. Thanks for praying for my fundraising this summer. God's at work!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
RecWeek
The Holy Spirit definitely seemed to be moving among my 13 Aggies! They faced conflicts with each other, forgave family members who have abused them, and grew in passion for spreading grace and love at A&M. The speaker, Gideon Tsang from the Austin church Vox Veniae, talked about being afraid, being a part of stories of grace, and being a good Samaritan. I think his talks gave words to what the Holy Spirit was doing.
We made some risky, God-sized plans for New Student Outreach in August. As a whole fellowship, we'll be handing out icy pops to hot students, driving freshmen to church, and playing games at one of the dorms. The LaFe Small Group will be playing soccer and handing out horchata. The co-ed Small Group will be doing Ice Cream for Ideas, to find out what people think about Jesus. The men's Small Group will be grilling and watching a manly movie. And we may have a fourth Small Group on facing opposition in Acts, which would do an outreach on choices we make in college. With Large Group, football games, and helping freshmen move in, we'll be busy!
Ben Nelson is our new Aggie IV staff worker. It was amazing to partner together for 2 weeks, and I'm so excited to work with him next year. He loved meeting and getting to know the Aggies. Plus, he got to experience his first yell practice.
I also got to teach 120 new Small Group Leaders over both weeks. We "trained for adventure" as pirates on the high seas. Mostly, that meant we dressed up the first day in eye patches and head scarves, yelled "Argh!" a lot, and had students tell us pirate jokes throughout the week.
The first week, I talked about the cost and pitfalls of leadership and how new Small Group Leaders can stay healthy facing these costs. Of course, I was reminded of a few things I could do myself! The second week, I taught students the inductive Bible study method. We covered how to lead others to observe, interpret, and apply what they read. It was exhilarating to help students learn a skill that will last them a lifetime, and will impact the campus, too.
We agreed to fast and pray on every Tuesday and Thursday this summer. Join us in praying! We haven't landed on a vision statement yet, so please pray for a vision next year that will help us to focus on following God more. Please pray for protection and preparation for students over the summer. Please also pray for healthy partnership with Asian American InterVarsity, our sister fellowship, and for our new chapter plants, LaFe (Latino students) and a South Asian group. Thanks!
We made some risky, God-sized plans for New Student Outreach in August. As a whole fellowship, we'll be handing out icy pops to hot students, driving freshmen to church, and playing games at one of the dorms. The LaFe Small Group will be playing soccer and handing out horchata. The co-ed Small Group will be doing Ice Cream for Ideas, to find out what people think about Jesus. The men's Small Group will be grilling and watching a manly movie. And we may have a fourth Small Group on facing opposition in Acts, which would do an outreach on choices we make in college. With Large Group, football games, and helping freshmen move in, we'll be busy!
Ben Nelson is our new Aggie IV staff worker. It was amazing to partner together for 2 weeks, and I'm so excited to work with him next year. He loved meeting and getting to know the Aggies. Plus, he got to experience his first yell practice.
I also got to teach 120 new Small Group Leaders over both weeks. We "trained for adventure" as pirates on the high seas. Mostly, that meant we dressed up the first day in eye patches and head scarves, yelled "Argh!" a lot, and had students tell us pirate jokes throughout the week.
The first week, I talked about the cost and pitfalls of leadership and how new Small Group Leaders can stay healthy facing these costs. Of course, I was reminded of a few things I could do myself! The second week, I taught students the inductive Bible study method. We covered how to lead others to observe, interpret, and apply what they read. It was exhilarating to help students learn a skill that will last them a lifetime, and will impact the campus, too.
We agreed to fast and pray on every Tuesday and Thursday this summer. Join us in praying! We haven't landed on a vision statement yet, so please pray for a vision next year that will help us to focus on following God more. Please pray for protection and preparation for students over the summer. Please also pray for healthy partnership with Asian American InterVarsity, our sister fellowship, and for our new chapter plants, LaFe (Latino students) and a South Asian group. Thanks!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Praying
Praying, by J.I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom, was a good primer on the subject. It covered: meditating, praising, being searched by God, asking, complaining, hanging on through hardship or delayed answers, and praying corporately. Plus, it touched on the beliefs you need to have to relate to God through prayer so you don't get stuck in lies about what prayer is and who God is.
Writing style-wise, the book suffered from the same problem I'm told I have. The writing felt like stilted conversation. There were too many long, complicated sentences and far too many lists of verbs or adjectives that I lost myself in. The authors seemed to be trying to throw a slight joke in occasionally, but they always kept their distance with big words. Nothing wrong with big words and big sentences - you just don't have to use them when something simple will do.
It sometimes felt like they were trying to pack in too many slightly connected thoughts into the same chapter. They spent a lot of time explaining why they were talking about a subject that didn't at first glance have much to do with the chapter title. There's just too much to talk about with prayer!
If you can push through the writing style and stay with their thought process, you're in for a treat. I was challenged about the heart of prayer and seeking after the Lord. I was called back to some basic prayer practices I desperately need. And I was introduced to a couple new ideas to freshen up my prayer life.
In the next couple months, I'm hoping to:
Writing style-wise, the book suffered from the same problem I'm told I have. The writing felt like stilted conversation. There were too many long, complicated sentences and far too many lists of verbs or adjectives that I lost myself in. The authors seemed to be trying to throw a slight joke in occasionally, but they always kept their distance with big words. Nothing wrong with big words and big sentences - you just don't have to use them when something simple will do.
It sometimes felt like they were trying to pack in too many slightly connected thoughts into the same chapter. They spent a lot of time explaining why they were talking about a subject that didn't at first glance have much to do with the chapter title. There's just too much to talk about with prayer!
If you can push through the writing style and stay with their thought process, you're in for a treat. I was challenged about the heart of prayer and seeking after the Lord. I was called back to some basic prayer practices I desperately need. And I was introduced to a couple new ideas to freshen up my prayer life.
In the next couple months, I'm hoping to:
"Doesn't the prospect of gaining wisdom make meditation worth the effort? Sadly, there are couch-potato Christians just as there are couch-potato TV watchers, who look on at others' efforts but make no effort at anything themselves and so get nowhere (82)." I pray this isn't me - I don't want to look back and wonder, "Whatever happened to my decision to pray diligently?" Especially ironic, as I'm typing this while sitting on a couch.Start reading the Bible all the way through, and read more of it using lectio divina.
Ask God to search my heart, meditating on Psalm 139.
Ask God how I should be interceding for others.
Structure my intercessory prayer using Biblical prayers, such as Psalm 9:9-10, 1 Sam 2:1-10, 1 Chron 29:10-19, 2 Chron 6:14-42, Daniel 9:4-19, Habakkuk 3:17-19, Luke 1:46-55, Eph 3:14-21, Phil 1:3-11, Col 1:9-12, Jude 24-25, and Matt 6:9-13.
Bring to God in wordless prayer one of my major areas of suffering. Close with Psalm 55:22. Pray my response to God (with words).
Consider how my personal prayer can improve my corporate worship, and vice versa.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Quotes from Praying
Just finished reading Praying, and I'll post a review of it tomorrow. In the meantime, I particularly loved some of the quotes they used:
"I ask you whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness." - Bishop Ryle, A Call to Prayer
"May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to." - C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm
"I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment." - C.S. Lewis, "A Word About Praising," Reflections on the Psalms
He asked for strength that he might achieve;
he was made weak that he might obey.
He asked for health that he might do greater things;
he was given infirmity that he might do better things.
He asked for riches that he might be happy;
he was given poverty that he might be wise.
He asked for power that he might have the praise of men;
he was given weakness that he might feel the need of God.
He asked for all things that he might enjoy life;
he was given life that he might enjoy all things.
He has received nothing that he asked for, but all that he hoped for.
His prayer is answered.
- A poem on how God hears our prayers and answers what we should have asked, attributed to Col. R.H. Fitzhugh, The Paradox of Prayer
"There is nothing more unchristian than the solitary Christian." - John Wesley
"I love the human race. It's people I can't stand." - Peanuts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Return from RecWeek (cue cheesy movie music)
I'm back after a week off! I spent 2 weeks, May 14-27, at RecWeek (I know it seems like a misnomer, but we have 2 sets of students come through, so they're only there a week). It was fantastic, and I can't wait to tell y'all about it. This summer, I'll also give updates on fundraising, and write some book reviews over what I've been reading. Look for my next post in a day or two!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Fund-Raising Banquet
Last Tuesday, Kyle and I headed to Houston for InterVarsity's 12th Annual Gulf Coast Fund-Raising Banquet. It was so encouraging to see one of my students, Cody, share her testimony with nearly 180 people. She shared about her journey, from alienation from the church to joining an InterVarsity Small Group and a GIG to deciding to follow Christ! I got to see old friends and meet some Old Ags. Plus, I think we had some of the best food we've ever had at the banquet from Facundo Cafe. It was a great night!
Monday, April 18, 2011
We acted like Fools!
On April Fool's Day we fasted and prayed. Then April 2-15, we chose to be fools for Christ, to share the gospel with 2+ friends and invite them to respond. Here are the stories I've heard so far:
David got to share the gospel with a friend just a few minutes after we left dinner to begin our fast. A coworker from the summer before called him out of the blue. The guy was going through a hard time; a couple friends had been in a car accident. He had noticed David's actions and attitude the summer before, and knew David was a Christian. He wanted to know how he could become a Christian too. David shared the gospel with him and prayed for him to receive Christ!It's been quite a ride! Students seem to have gotten energized by this experience. Please pray that this will raise the evangelistic temperature of our fellowship.
Hannah, who's been meeting with Jason in a GIG for months, got to lead him to Christ too! They studied 2 passages: John 8, where Jesus doesn't condemn a woman for sin, and a passage from Romans, which states God hasn't come back to fix everything because he's giving all of us a chance to decide. They talked and she asked, "Where do you see yourself at this point?" He said, "I'm ready to jump in."
Cody befriended Matt from her strength training class. Matt just got back from being deployed in the Navy and is 29 (a lot older than the traditional A&M student). Recently, he expressed interest in the Bible. He is a "cultural Christian", but not devoted solely to Christ. He's agreed to "prep Bible materials" with her for her Small Group, which she is hoping will lead more into a GIG.
Seth, a freshman, invited Ryan to a movie night outreach. Ryan has been very open and impressed with the Christian faith. He attended one of our Small Groups this week and the students spent 3 hours talking about the gospel with him.
Finally, I got to meet with Kim, an international student from England who's been hanging out with us all year and asking lots of questions about Jesus. We had fun talking about her year in the states and what she's expecting as she heads home in a month. At the end of our meeting, I asked if she'd be open to studying Scripture together, and she said yes!
Friday, April 8, 2011
A New Brother?
Hannah, a student leader, has been leading a GIG with a friend she's known for years. A GIG is a one-on-one meeting to study the Scriptures in a low-pressure environment, where her friend can ask as many questions as he wants. And he has been. The big question on his mind: If God is just, why isn't life fair? Why doesn't he take care of the good people? How can you really believe he's in control? And he had plenty of others. Because Hannah knows him well, she's been able to pick Scripture that she knows could help him see the truth that he struggles to believe.
He recently messaged her on Facebook:
He recently messaged her on Facebook:
I'm feeling really good about God right nowHe's been saying for weeks that he understands, but doesn't "get it." A few weeks ago, he told Hannah he finally gets it! We think he's either on the verge of deciding to follow Christ or he already has. He still has plenty of questions and doubts, but many of them are the same I hear from Christians. It's usually not a good idea to ask someone, "Have you decided to start following Jesus yet so I can stop evangelizing you?" So please pray for him to commit and grow close to God!
it really sunk into me the other day about how I'm not perfect, and how I don't have to be
and that Jesus is the path to making that ok
It made me smile really big
I figured I ought to tell you
since laboriously trying to get that through my thick skull seems to be your thing lately
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Oh Mexico...
Chuburna, Mexico, to be exact. We worked, ate, and slept in a Presbyterian church in Chuburna, just outside of Merida.
We worked hard on the pastor's house, mostly with concrete. The first picture is An mixing it by hand. The second picture is Cody lifting it up to the roof. That last picture is Abby chopping concrete off the walls in big chunks. Every 30 years they have to knock the brittle stuff off and put a new layer of concrete back on the stone, so we helped with the first step.
And we played hard - Vacation Bible School with the neighborhood kids. We played games like Catch the Gringo, Simon Says, and Crabs and Minnows. This is Jaime, having captured a kid after we reversed the rules of Catch the Gringo.
And here's Abby, leading worship for all the kids with her tambourine.
And after a long day of being a missionary, we crashed in our hammocks.
Ceviche! Yum!
This is Lucero drinking fresh coconut milk.
We spent 2 afternoons at the beach - I collected shells, we tried to create a whirlpool, and we made a beautiful mermaid. The top picture is all of us racing to see who could get the farthest into the ocean before giving up running.
Here's my team with Pastor Isaias, the last night we were there, in our traditional Yucatan shirts that the church gave us.
Our last day we visited the Mayan ruins at Uxmal and explored downtown Merida. The last picture is Priscilla, enjoying some mango juice at a downtown restaurant.
The trip was amazing. I was challenged by Scripture we studied. I was actually able to help with the work. I got to bond with my students. They were challenged to give up using their cell phones constantly, to not worry about doing everything perfectly, and to trust God to have things under control. God is good!
We worked hard on the pastor's house, mostly with concrete. The first picture is An mixing it by hand. The second picture is Cody lifting it up to the roof. That last picture is Abby chopping concrete off the walls in big chunks. Every 30 years they have to knock the brittle stuff off and put a new layer of concrete back on the stone, so we helped with the first step.
And we played hard - Vacation Bible School with the neighborhood kids. We played games like Catch the Gringo, Simon Says, and Crabs and Minnows. This is Jaime, having captured a kid after we reversed the rules of Catch the Gringo.
And here's Abby, leading worship for all the kids with her tambourine.
And after a long day of being a missionary, we crashed in our hammocks.
Ceviche! Yum!
This is Lucero drinking fresh coconut milk.
We spent 2 afternoons at the beach - I collected shells, we tried to create a whirlpool, and we made a beautiful mermaid. The top picture is all of us racing to see who could get the farthest into the ocean before giving up running.
Here's my team with Pastor Isaias, the last night we were there, in our traditional Yucatan shirts that the church gave us.
Our last day we visited the Mayan ruins at Uxmal and explored downtown Merida. The last picture is Priscilla, enjoying some mango juice at a downtown restaurant.
The trip was amazing. I was challenged by Scripture we studied. I was actually able to help with the work. I got to bond with my students. They were challenged to give up using their cell phones constantly, to not worry about doing everything perfectly, and to trust God to have things under control. God is good!
Monday, April 4, 2011
And I'm Back!
Sorry for the delayed posts! I was in Mexico for Spring Break with InterVarsity, and I guess I got caught up in preparing and fundraising for the trip. Then I got sick for a week from being in Mexico, and then headed out to Houston for staff Area Team Meetings. But now, I have so much to share!
I'll post about Mexico later this week, complete with pictures. But here's what's been happening with IV on campus - we're choosing to be Fools For Christ!
On April 1, we fasted and prayed. We met in two's and three's at All Faith's over the course of the day, praying during "watch hours." Then we gathered with Asian American IV that night to break our fast, hear former IV staff Sean Watkins challenge us to persevere in our faith, and worship God.
Now during April 2-15, 9 of us committed to sharing the gospel with 2+ friends and inviting them to respond. Please pray we would be bold to have spiritual conversations even if they're awkward or painful. Pray also for fruit - I hope that my students are impacted by God's power, and that we have some new brothers and sisters in Christ at the end of these 2 weeks!
I'll post about Mexico later this week, complete with pictures. But here's what's been happening with IV on campus - we're choosing to be Fools For Christ!
On April 1, we fasted and prayed. We met in two's and three's at All Faith's over the course of the day, praying during "watch hours." Then we gathered with Asian American IV that night to break our fast, hear former IV staff Sean Watkins challenge us to persevere in our faith, and worship God.
Now during April 2-15, 9 of us committed to sharing the gospel with 2+ friends and inviting them to respond. Please pray we would be bold to have spiritual conversations even if they're awkward or painful. Pray also for fruit - I hope that my students are impacted by God's power, and that we have some new brothers and sisters in Christ at the end of these 2 weeks!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What's in a Name?
I've been considering the meaning of names for a while. This Sunday, we talked about the new covenant. When you would establish a covenant, one of the things you did was exchange identities with each other. In Revelation 2:17, we're told Jesus is going to give us a new name. While I don't know what my new name will be, I've been looking at what Carolyn means. The names Carolyn and Kyle are actually both derived from Charles, which means strong. With the command to "be strong and courageous" from Joshua 1 that we've been studying, I'm pondering what that means. So, what does your name mean?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A Discerning Eye
We're jumping into leadership discernment. Which means lots of interviewing potential leaders, prayer, and decisions to be made. Pray for us, that we'd have eyes to see what God sees in potential leaders, that God would clarify the call to leadership, and that students with vision and passion would be strong and courageous to cross some rivers. I'm also praying for 8 Small Group Leaders for next year, which feels lofty, but I can only imagine what good that could do in our fellowship!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Breakthrough
Our hope was to see students "Courageously Crossing Rivers, Faithfully Renewing the Land" at our Breakthrough conference Feb. 11-13. This may be crossing a river from unbelief to faith; sinful living to a holy choice; or living without a mission to answering God's call to reach the campus and the world.
I got to teach 30 students inductive Bible study skills, and many of them left camp saying things like:
I got to teach 30 students inductive Bible study skills, and many of them left camp saying things like:
"Inductive Bible study makes God's word a little easier to understand."I also prayed with one student who is making drastic choices to step away from an addictive sin. Another student realized she was trusting in herself moment-to-moment, and wanted to trust in Jesus instead. Finally, one student was trained in evangelism, and feels God calling them to something great, especially with our Spring Break mission trip coming up. Please pray for continued fruitfulness!
"I spend a lot of time journaling and praying, but I'm going to add more inductive Bible study into my quiet time."
"I'm going to take this back to my Small Group on campus."
Monday, January 31, 2011
God Moved Among Latino Students
Two students and an alumna headed to Dallas for the LaFe Conference Dec. 27-31 to join with Latino students from around the nation to worship God and explore how their culture and faith intertwine. Cris decided to start following Jesus at this conference. She shared her testimony at our first Large Group:
The first night I came in, everyone was worshipping. They were all singing and jumping around and I just wanted to get out of the way, like this (hands straight at side, trying to be as small as possible). The next day we had seminars and started meeting with our Small Group to get to know one another better. A student from my Small Group challenged me to research and read books. So I bought a book and I was looking into things a bit more and it started making a little more sense.Pris, the other student, felt God’s call to lead, something she’d never considered seriously before. She came back with a passion to start a LaFe chapter here at Texas A&M, reaching out to Latino students, helping them to feel welcomed and at home, and challenging them to be a redeeming influence on campus. I might be starting a Latino-specific Small Group Bible study with her this semester, and I’m so excited!
The next day, during our evening worship, they asked us to stand if we wanted to know Jesus more or had any questions about Jesus. I kept feeling like I should get out of my seat. I would sit at the edge, leaning forward, but then I’d say no, and scoot back. There was a guy staff that was open, but I didn’t feel like talking to a guy. I told God that if a woman staff opened up, then I would get up. Of course, a woman staff opened up, so I went over, and I just started crying. I don’t know why – I wasn’t sad! She asked me what was going on, what questions I had. I told her I thought I wanted to accept Jesus. She sat down with me and explained the gospel and told me to just talk to God about it. I told God I wanted the comfort and purpose my friends had, and that I finally understood that He had died for me. Then she told me that I’d never forget Dec. 29, 2010 and that I needed to tell my friends. So I went and sat down, but I didn’t tell anyone. I was worried I’d be bothering them since they seemed so happy. When worship was done and we were leaving, though, I grabbed Ibe and told her, “Guess what? I’m a Christian.” And then I grabbed Pris and told her, and they were jumping up and down and were so happy for me!
The next day, my Small Group Leader answered a question I had written down and turned in earlier in the conference, before I made a decision to follow Jesus: “When you’re a new Christian, how do you move forward in your journey?” Good timing, right?
Monday, January 10, 2011
It All Came Together…
at National Staff Conference! But it started back at Orientation for New Staff in June 2008. We took a day off from all the training to Sabbath. I spent the morning walking around downtown Madison, ending up at the University of Wisconsin. I had asked God to speak to me. Just before I crested a hill, this still small voice spoke to my soul: “a wide, open place.” Suddenly before me was a huge green lawn stretching upwards, with trees dotted throughout. It was beautiful. I found the verse I think this refers to, Psalm 18:19: “He brought me out to a wide-open place; He rescued me because He delighted in me” (HCSB). The beginning of Psalm 18 is filled with how horrible it was when David’s enemies were pursuing him and how scary-powerful God was when He protected David, and then we get to v. 19, with the peace and blessing. I left excited for God to bring me to this space.
Fast forward to December 2010. At Regional Staff Conference, the 40 staff from around Texas and Oklahoma studied God’s word and learned some new skills. We went through Joshua 1, using the inductive Bible study method. We realized God’s call to be strong and courageous was deeply connected to his commands to be obedient, to meditate on his Law, and to not be afraid or discouraged. Suddenly, courage didn’t seem so far out of my grasp. Because courage wasn’t doing something ridiculously grand and risky, it was being obedient to the Lord (which is sometimes grand and risky, but not when you’re looking at it from the perspective of obedience).
At church the Sunday after we got back from our vacation, our speaker B-Rock mentioned that the Israelites were given the opportunity to take all of the Promised Land, but didn’t. They settled for less than what God wanted to give them. I struggled with this – how had I been settling for less? What might God want to give me?
At National Staff Conference in January, 1200 staff gathered in St. Louis. God moved through our plenary speakers and seminars. After Jen Ball challenged us through Acts 19, I decided I wanted more of the Holy Spirit – whatever God would give me; I didn’t want to settle for less. I asked Andrea Thomas, my Associate Regional Director, to pray for me. She asked God to bless me with hearing his voice more clearly and to be strong and courageous. She saw an image of me crossing a river, just like the Israelites did in Joshua 3, and everywhere I put my foot, a green lawn spread out. She told me she thinks that means that as I head onto campus, growth and renewal will spread wherever I step. All I have to do is step in obedience to God. (That’s all? Eek!)
I’m back on campus now, and excited for what God’s doing. Pray with me that this would not be a neat thing I look back on and say, “Huh, what happened with that?” Please also pray that I would be strong, courageous, and obedient. And pray against exhaustion, low funding, sin, or distractions keeping me off campus. I want God to bring me to the wide, open place!
Fast forward to December 2010. At Regional Staff Conference, the 40 staff from around Texas and Oklahoma studied God’s word and learned some new skills. We went through Joshua 1, using the inductive Bible study method. We realized God’s call to be strong and courageous was deeply connected to his commands to be obedient, to meditate on his Law, and to not be afraid or discouraged. Suddenly, courage didn’t seem so far out of my grasp. Because courage wasn’t doing something ridiculously grand and risky, it was being obedient to the Lord (which is sometimes grand and risky, but not when you’re looking at it from the perspective of obedience).
At church the Sunday after we got back from our vacation, our speaker B-Rock mentioned that the Israelites were given the opportunity to take all of the Promised Land, but didn’t. They settled for less than what God wanted to give them. I struggled with this – how had I been settling for less? What might God want to give me?
At National Staff Conference in January, 1200 staff gathered in St. Louis. God moved through our plenary speakers and seminars. After Jen Ball challenged us through Acts 19, I decided I wanted more of the Holy Spirit – whatever God would give me; I didn’t want to settle for less. I asked Andrea Thomas, my Associate Regional Director, to pray for me. She asked God to bless me with hearing his voice more clearly and to be strong and courageous. She saw an image of me crossing a river, just like the Israelites did in Joshua 3, and everywhere I put my foot, a green lawn spread out. She told me she thinks that means that as I head onto campus, growth and renewal will spread wherever I step. All I have to do is step in obedience to God. (That’s all? Eek!)
I’m back on campus now, and excited for what God’s doing. Pray with me that this would not be a neat thing I look back on and say, “Huh, what happened with that?” Please also pray that I would be strong, courageous, and obedient. And pray against exhaustion, low funding, sin, or distractions keeping me off campus. I want God to bring me to the wide, open place!
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