Saturday, April 11, 2009
need a theme...
so i've decided that rather than just writing about my life on this blog that i need a theme...i need something funny (although I do not consider myself to be "funny") or sarcastic (now I know I am this) or serious...any suggestions would be welcome...
Monday, March 16, 2009
catch up...
i have attempted to keep this blog updated more this semester than in past semester, but it's proven difficult once again. there are so many things that rattle around in my head on a daily basis but to have the time and energy to write those out proves to be something i don't have much of.
so, to catch you up on the last couple of months...
i only have five weeks left at wbc. C-R-A-Z-Y. time has truly flown by. i have learned a lot not only about myself but also about my relationship with God and the call God has placed on my life.
i have applied for a church job. i really want it, but my prayer is that God's will would be done, not my own. i think it's a good fit for me and for the church, but we'll see what God has in store.
i am coming to love living in the city more and more, but small town texas is still very much a part of me. i notice this more and more as i spend time here. i love the city, but sometimes it is just too much for me.
i am an esfj on the meyers-briggs to the core. this is part of what i have learned about myself this semester.
i still want to change the world in a big way. the "macro" side of me has really come out this semester and i love it.
that's all for now...hasta luego!
so, to catch you up on the last couple of months...
i only have five weeks left at wbc. C-R-A-Z-Y. time has truly flown by. i have learned a lot not only about myself but also about my relationship with God and the call God has placed on my life.
i have applied for a church job. i really want it, but my prayer is that God's will would be done, not my own. i think it's a good fit for me and for the church, but we'll see what God has in store.
i am coming to love living in the city more and more, but small town texas is still very much a part of me. i notice this more and more as i spend time here. i love the city, but sometimes it is just too much for me.
i am an esfj on the meyers-briggs to the core. this is part of what i have learned about myself this semester.
i still want to change the world in a big way. the "macro" side of me has really come out this semester and i love it.
that's all for now...hasta luego!
Monday, February 9, 2009
a picture of my heart...
over the last several weeks this song has become a favorite of mine...i think it pretty much captures my heart right now...
Set the World on Fire
Britt Nicole
I wanna set the world on fire
Until it’s burning bright for You
It’s everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?
I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
There’s nothing I can not do
Nothing I cannot do
I wanna feed the hungry children
And reach across the farthest land
And tell the broken there is healing
And mercy in the Father’s hands
My hands my feet
My everything
My life, my love Lord, use me
I wanna set the world on fire
I wanna set the world on fire, yeah
I’m gonna set the world on fire
Set the world on fire
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
so far...
it's hard to believe that i've been in dallas for 3 1/2 weeks! it's had its ups and downs and there have been moments when i have questioned why in the world i am here, but i must say that it's been an amazing journey thus far. it's difficult to put the experience into words, but i will try...
i. love. wbc. i couldn't ask for a better place to be this semester. it's an amazing place that has a great grasp of what it means to be the church, not only to the members of the congregation but to their community here in dallas and the rest of the world. it's a great thing to be a part of. not only is it a great internship experience, but other than my home church in l-town and my summer in california, i haven't been a part of a church that i have felt so loved and accepted. i look forward to going to chuch every sunday so that i can worship with this new family i have found. it's a-mazing.
the big city is ok. i didn't think i would be able to do it, i didn't think that dallas would be a place i could EVER be comfortable in, but i am realizing that it's really not that bad. while i am not sure i could do it forever, it's definitely a possibility for the short term. i enjoy everything being at my fingertips.
internship is slowly, but surely, happening. i have the awesome opportunity to work with GREAT people who are GREAT at their jobs/ministries. i am co-facilitating a grief group, which i feel extremely honored to be a part of. to be a part of the grieving process, to walk alongside these individuals, is truly sacred. i am getting to share my passion, social work, with individuals at wbc. i have met some amazing older adults from whom i can learn so much. planning service events for congregants so that they are able to give back to their communities is exciting and rewarding.
so, that's just a snapshot of life right now and a few thoughts about it. hope that life in your neck of the woods is going well.
i. love. wbc. i couldn't ask for a better place to be this semester. it's an amazing place that has a great grasp of what it means to be the church, not only to the members of the congregation but to their community here in dallas and the rest of the world. it's a great thing to be a part of. not only is it a great internship experience, but other than my home church in l-town and my summer in california, i haven't been a part of a church that i have felt so loved and accepted. i look forward to going to chuch every sunday so that i can worship with this new family i have found. it's a-mazing.
the big city is ok. i didn't think i would be able to do it, i didn't think that dallas would be a place i could EVER be comfortable in, but i am realizing that it's really not that bad. while i am not sure i could do it forever, it's definitely a possibility for the short term. i enjoy everything being at my fingertips.
internship is slowly, but surely, happening. i have the awesome opportunity to work with GREAT people who are GREAT at their jobs/ministries. i am co-facilitating a grief group, which i feel extremely honored to be a part of. to be a part of the grieving process, to walk alongside these individuals, is truly sacred. i am getting to share my passion, social work, with individuals at wbc. i have met some amazing older adults from whom i can learn so much. planning service events for congregants so that they are able to give back to their communities is exciting and rewarding.
so, that's just a snapshot of life right now and a few thoughts about it. hope that life in your neck of the woods is going well.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
update.
it's time for an update. this one might be short, but i hope to update more faithfully over the next several months so that this blog will actually prove to be functional rather than just something that exists.
some of the exciting happenings in my life over the last 6 months:
-survived (and enjoyed) an intense summer session of graduate school
-survived (and semi-enjoyed) an intense fall semester of graduate school
-learned that i love social work more than i could possibly imagine
-learning to be content with my relationship status
-learning to live with big questions
-learning to live with peace that passes all understanding
-learning to trust HIM in everything
-had my last "first day" of school
-moved to dallas and started my internship
-made amazing new friends in my graduate program
-celebrated the holidays with those that mean the most to me:my family!
-started 2009 in the middle of a cow pasture sitting on a four wheeler playing "gestapo" with my favorite teenagers while contemplating all of the exciting changes that are going to happen in the coming months
life is good right now. i can't imagine being anywhere else doing anything else. these are exciting times. i can't wait to see where God takes me.
some of the exciting happenings in my life over the last 6 months:
-survived (and enjoyed) an intense summer session of graduate school
-survived (and semi-enjoyed) an intense fall semester of graduate school
-learned that i love social work more than i could possibly imagine
-learning to be content with my relationship status
-learning to live with big questions
-learning to live with peace that passes all understanding
-learning to trust HIM in everything
-had my last "first day" of school
-moved to dallas and started my internship
-made amazing new friends in my graduate program
-celebrated the holidays with those that mean the most to me:my family!
-started 2009 in the middle of a cow pasture sitting on a four wheeler playing "gestapo" with my favorite teenagers while contemplating all of the exciting changes that are going to happen in the coming months
life is good right now. i can't imagine being anywhere else doing anything else. these are exciting times. i can't wait to see where God takes me.
Friday, July 18, 2008
quotes...
so, grad school is going well...it's tough, but it's good. i've never felt such a peace about being somewhere doing something in my life. it's incredible. i know that God has great things instore for me as i learn more about being a social worker and what that looks like in the context of the church. here are some of the quotes that have really stood out to me as i have worked the last couple of weeks...they have all to do with church social work/community ministry...they've changed my life...
“Good deeds and good news can’t and shouldn’t be separated. It’s not really ‘church’ if it’s not engaged in the life of the community through ministry and service to others.” –Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson, The Externally Focused Church (2004)
“It is not you who shapes God, it is God who shapes you
If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the artist
Who does all things in due season.
Offer God your heart, soft and tractable,
And keep the form in which the artist has fashioned you.
Let your clay be moist,
Lest you grow hard and lose the imprint of God’s fingers.”
-Irenaeus Shalem News, www.shalem.org
“We love because God first loved us; worthiness is not a factor.” –Legacies of Care
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” -1 Peter 4:8-10 (NIV)
“To believe you can approach transcendence without drawing nearer in compassion to suffering humanity is to fool yourself. There can be no genuine personal religious conversion without a change in social attitude.” –William Sloane Coffin, Credo
“To find the kingdom is the easiest thing in the world but also the most difficult. Easy because it is all around you and within you, and all you have to do is reach out and take possession of it. Difficult because if you wish to possess the kingdom you may possess nothing else. That is, you must drop all inward leaning on any person or thing, withdrawing from them forever the power to thrill you, or excite you, or to give you a feeling of security or well-being. For this you first need to see with unflinching clarity this simple and shattering truth: Contrary to what your culture and religion have taught you, nothing, but absolutely nothing can make you happy. The moment you see that, you will stop moving from one job to another, one place, one spiritual technique, one guru to another. None of these things can give you a single minute of happiness.” –Anthony de Mello, The Way to Love
“Good deeds and good news can’t and shouldn’t be separated. It’s not really ‘church’ if it’s not engaged in the life of the community through ministry and service to others.” –Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson, The Externally Focused Church (2004)
“It is not you who shapes God, it is God who shapes you
If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the artist
Who does all things in due season.
Offer God your heart, soft and tractable,
And keep the form in which the artist has fashioned you.
Let your clay be moist,
Lest you grow hard and lose the imprint of God’s fingers.”
-Irenaeus Shalem News, www.shalem.org
“We love because God first loved us; worthiness is not a factor.” –Legacies of Care
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” -1 Peter 4:8-10 (NIV)
“To believe you can approach transcendence without drawing nearer in compassion to suffering humanity is to fool yourself. There can be no genuine personal religious conversion without a change in social attitude.” –William Sloane Coffin, Credo
“To find the kingdom is the easiest thing in the world but also the most difficult. Easy because it is all around you and within you, and all you have to do is reach out and take possession of it. Difficult because if you wish to possess the kingdom you may possess nothing else. That is, you must drop all inward leaning on any person or thing, withdrawing from them forever the power to thrill you, or excite you, or to give you a feeling of security or well-being. For this you first need to see with unflinching clarity this simple and shattering truth: Contrary to what your culture and religion have taught you, nothing, but absolutely nothing can make you happy. The moment you see that, you will stop moving from one job to another, one place, one spiritual technique, one guru to another. None of these things can give you a single minute of happiness.” –Anthony de Mello, The Way to Love
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
jonah
since graduation i have been working at the church i grew up in l-town as the children's ministry intern. i have a week left and it's another bittersweet ending in my life. i have enjoyed my time here, but i'm ready to go back to baylor and start graduate school. i believe that my calling has become more defined and clear and i'm ready to get back to school so that i can continue to work through all of that. bring it on grad school.
in other happenings, i have been leading the children's Bible study/worship on sunday evenings for the past month. it's been an experience because there are only like 2-5 kids there every week, but i think i have learned more than i've ever been able to teach them. we've been studying stories in the Old Testament in the context of the history of the world. hopefully it hasn't been as boring as it sounds here. :) we've studied creation, the exodus, and king david so far. as i have read these stories again that i have read and heard a thousand times, God has been so faithful to provide new insight and new learning to me. i hope i have been able to convey that to the kids that come on sunday nights.
so anyway, the point of this blog is to share some of those things that God has been teaching me and some things i've noticed for the firsr time this week as i have studied the good 'ole story of jonah.
-jonah told the other people on the boat what he was doing---running away from the Lord. wow. jonah knew exactly what he was doing when he ran away and he still did it. why don't i realize that that is what i am doing when i start to run away? why do i still go when i do realize what i'm doing? wouldn't it be easier to stop and turn back to God? jonah sure did have to go through a lot before he decided to follow the Lord again.
-after jonah told the men to throw him in the sea, the men in the boat continued to try to fix the situation themselves. "instead, the men did their best to row back to land" (v. 13). that is me to a T! even after i've been given some sort of direction, i still try to do things on my own so many times because i think that my way is still the best way. why am i such an idiot sometimes?? just like the men in the boat, it's only when i finally realize that i can't do it my way do i cry out to the Lord.
-it usually takes a lot longer than 3 days and 3 nights "in the belly of a big fish" for me to figure out that i need to turn back to God and follow Him in obedience, but i'm working on it. i'm working at obeying Him when He calls.
-i can identify with jonah on so many levels with the whole "getting angry at God because He is a compassionate God" thing. why in the world am i like this? what am i thinking? do i really think i have a right to be mad at God because He has grace and compassion on other people that i think deserve His wrath? i know i have a long way to go in this area, i think we all probably do, but i'm working on it. i'm working to love people more every day and see them with God's eyes and not my own.
-God is concerned about those that are not on the path that lead to Him. He has called me to love those people and meet them where they are and allow Him to draw them to Himself. He has called me to walk alongside them and show them what loving people and loving Jesus is all about (even though it is obvious from this posting that i don't have that all figured out yet). i love it and can't wait to continue to work fulfill this calling.
God has been good this summer and He will continue to be good. He has taught me so much. i can't wait to continue to learn and grow deeper in Him. i can't wait to see what's next. i want to be more like Him and less like myself.
in other happenings, i have been leading the children's Bible study/worship on sunday evenings for the past month. it's been an experience because there are only like 2-5 kids there every week, but i think i have learned more than i've ever been able to teach them. we've been studying stories in the Old Testament in the context of the history of the world. hopefully it hasn't been as boring as it sounds here. :) we've studied creation, the exodus, and king david so far. as i have read these stories again that i have read and heard a thousand times, God has been so faithful to provide new insight and new learning to me. i hope i have been able to convey that to the kids that come on sunday nights.
so anyway, the point of this blog is to share some of those things that God has been teaching me and some things i've noticed for the firsr time this week as i have studied the good 'ole story of jonah.
-jonah told the other people on the boat what he was doing---running away from the Lord. wow. jonah knew exactly what he was doing when he ran away and he still did it. why don't i realize that that is what i am doing when i start to run away? why do i still go when i do realize what i'm doing? wouldn't it be easier to stop and turn back to God? jonah sure did have to go through a lot before he decided to follow the Lord again.
-after jonah told the men to throw him in the sea, the men in the boat continued to try to fix the situation themselves. "instead, the men did their best to row back to land" (v. 13). that is me to a T! even after i've been given some sort of direction, i still try to do things on my own so many times because i think that my way is still the best way. why am i such an idiot sometimes?? just like the men in the boat, it's only when i finally realize that i can't do it my way do i cry out to the Lord.
-it usually takes a lot longer than 3 days and 3 nights "in the belly of a big fish" for me to figure out that i need to turn back to God and follow Him in obedience, but i'm working on it. i'm working at obeying Him when He calls.
-i can identify with jonah on so many levels with the whole "getting angry at God because He is a compassionate God" thing. why in the world am i like this? what am i thinking? do i really think i have a right to be mad at God because He has grace and compassion on other people that i think deserve His wrath? i know i have a long way to go in this area, i think we all probably do, but i'm working on it. i'm working to love people more every day and see them with God's eyes and not my own.
-God is concerned about those that are not on the path that lead to Him. He has called me to love those people and meet them where they are and allow Him to draw them to Himself. He has called me to walk alongside them and show them what loving people and loving Jesus is all about (even though it is obvious from this posting that i don't have that all figured out yet). i love it and can't wait to continue to work fulfill this calling.
God has been good this summer and He will continue to be good. He has taught me so much. i can't wait to continue to learn and grow deeper in Him. i can't wait to see what's next. i want to be more like Him and less like myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
