3:55 in a 4:00 O'Clock World

The other day, my friend, Lauren, and I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to grab some alfredo sauce. In the mean time, we decided that we were going to go to Sonic before happy hour ended. It was about 3:55 (happy hour is from 2-4) and there was a line of cars, out in the street taking up the entire turning lane. Lauren and I were in this mess and when we looked back behind us, about a minute later, there were cars from three different intersecting points, blinkers on, trying to get into this Sonic fast track. Then, when we finally did get on the Sonic premises, cars would not even take the parking stalls, they proceeded to all make one big line through the drive-thru in which no one else could pass by to even get to empty slots. Whoa, whoa, whoa! This really is the world in which we often live -- procrastination, waiting until the last second, throwing things together, committing to too many things, thinking 5 more minutes will be our saving grace.

You know, if you go to Sonic at 3:00 there won't be a line. There won't be crazies trying to come at you from at least three different directions. You can take some time to breathe and actually enjoy that Raspberry Limeade a bit.

After that trip to Sonic, I decided, I don't want to be the rushing 3:55 in a 4:00 o'clock world, hoping I will make the cut.

Integrity Found in the Strangest of Places...

Tonight, in my Leadership and Ethical Worldviews class, we discussed integrity and what exactly it is. While I was thinking about that very question last week, and while I was trying to prepare an answer, I decided that integrity is this: replacing the toilet paper in the upstairs bathroom when the toilet paper is in the closet, in the kitchen, downstairs.

How easy it is to cheat your way out of having to be the one that puts the toilet paper back on the roll!! Especially when no one is around.

Skunks and Chicken Nuggets

Random! Here are some things I have been thinking lately, so I thought these would fit well in a random post...

• It is totally "skunk season" around Kansas. There are skunks everywhere, dead and alive. It's gross!
• Speaking of skunks, I think the smell of a skunk vaguely resembles freshly fried chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Oh yeah, that's why I don't eat there.
• There is a marketing blogger named Seth Godin. He writes blogs everyday. You can have them sent to your e-mail -- they are a good daily read to make you think. My favorite advice from him so far -- "No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself." I pick me, I pick me!
• Shepherd's pie is seriously delicious. You should eat it sometime. I made it on Tuesday night. It's SO good! But you have to put peas in it.
• I think the name "Titan," for a boy, is seriously cool. I like names with meaning.
• Today at the mall, with my mom and sister, we saw a sign that said "Want an hour-glass figure? Corsets, 20% off." My mom read the sign out-loud and then said, "Not if I have to squeeze into that thing." It was funny.
• Squirrels are cute, but I believe they are rabid.
• This weekend, the Kingdom Committee that I co-lead with another student is hosting a "sleep-out" to promote awareness about Imagine No Malaria, a campaign that is striving to eradicate Malaria by 2015. I am really excited about the way God has been helping us raise awareness for this cause! It's awesome.
• If passionate prayer makes the biggest difference of all, why the heck do we/and the church lack in this area?
• I have this dream and vision for the UMC church -- it's causing me a lot of thought.
• I wonder where my life will be next year at this time.
• This summer, I am going back to Project Transformation!! I can't wait.

Fireflies

I have been finishing up a book called "Souls in Transition" for my campus ministry practicum. The book is about emerging young adults. I have decided that it is kind of strange to read a book about people in the age group that I am in. The book has been a really good source of research for me, as well as a source of personal reflection. The contents of the book reflect on how young adults see life, spirituality, friendships, community service, parents, college, marriage, job-hunting etc.

However, one common theme has stuck out to me. The theme of loneliness. One thing that I have inferred from my reading and personal reflection is that young adults are lonely. The spectrum of loneliness is a wide one -- in short, young adults are lonely in many ways. The ironic part of this particular type of loneliness is that students are in contact with people more than they ever have been thanks to technology and social networking: Texting, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, IM, MSN chat, blogs, etc. As I was reading, unfortunately I found myself relating to this common theme. I was thinking about it and honestly my junior year is not one that I would really wish to re-live. I have found myself, in a legit and ironic way, lonely.

I have been talking with a good friend of mine about all of this -- she seems to be struggling with it, too, having moved to a new town. We were both reflecting on loneliness the other day and we were talking about how God uses us in our loneliness. She noted that she has been learning to trust God in a different way -- she has been trusting him to fill the loneliness of her heart. I think that has been happening to me, too. There are many nights when I sit with my journal and just write away, just asking God to see my heart, and to use me for something worthy. I have discovered that even though I have been struggling in particular ways, God has been responding to me in my times of desperation. He has really been excelling me in my gifts. He has been giving me opportunities to serve and respond to the gifts he has equipped me with. That part, has been glorious. In the past three months, I have been learning a lot about myself. God has constantly been pushing me beyond my comfort zone, he has been accelerating dreams and inspiring me to catch them and understand the beauty of them. And somehow, kind of like a child chasing fireflies late at night, I do.

Radical Hospitality

One of the greatest privileges I enjoy is being at least 20 years old and a junior. Here is why...I get to live in the Warren Apartments at college! These are the apartments that they show you on your campus visit, and they are the apartments that most people dream about if they come to SC. Now, hear me out, the Warren apartments are actually really nice. They are not typical college apartments. They are spacious...2 bedrooms (with big closets, a must for girls), 1 1/2 baths, a nice living room, kitchen and dining room. By the time you are a junior, it's time to have a kitchen! Having a kitchen has been one of the best things ever! I have really discovered that I love to cook.

Also, another reason that I love living in the Warren apartments is because it allows my roommates and I to be able to participate in radical hospitality. Hospitality is one of my favorite things!

I.love.having.people.over.

I especially love cooking for people and having them come over for supper. One of the best places to spend time with people is around the table, sharing a meal. Really, it does not get more organic than that. There is something cool about getting to eat together. I love providing people with a healthy, home-cooked meal. As college students, we eat one-too-many cafeteria meals.

Also, our apartment is often the meeting room for worship, prayer and regular community life! We sing, play games, watch movies…everything. I absolutely love it. It really has made me think lately, though. What an easy way to bless people! Really. This is what life in community is all about. Blessing people. Ah, it makes my Spirit really joyful. God continually just keeps blessing our apartment with wonderful people. On Thursday, we are having some friends over from Cowley Community College…they are excited for a home-cooked meal, and I am excited to bless them!

This is what it’s about. Mmm.

Merry Christmas Eve

I was recently at my Aunt Nancy's house to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family and she informed me that I had not blogged in awhile. And, alas, it's true, I have not! So, I will catch you all up. The fall semester, for me, started getting extremely busy in November. From the end of November until mid-December I worked on four major projects for the end of the year. By the end I finished a 16 page Exegetical Paper for Greek class -- don't be fooled, this paper was a great deal of work! I translated Matthew 28:1-20 all on my own; altogether I spent around 8 hours translating/parsing/all that grammatical stuff. I spent around another 15 hours researching/writing the actual paper. It was a crazy time. But, in the end, it was a paper I was extremely proud of! I also wrote another paper for my "Holy Spirit, the Church and the End" class. I wrote about Free Liturgy in the Pentecostal/Charismatic realm and Traditional Liturgy and what the two have to learn from one another. That was probably my favorite paper to write! It was very moving to write and it also was one of those things that really helped me shape my beliefs further, ya know? If you've never read Simon Chan (Liturgical Theology, Spiritual Theology, etc.) you must! He hails from the Assembly of God denomination and has some wonderful things to say about traditional liturgy. I wrote another paper for Philosophy on St. Augustine's view of evil as the privation (lack) of goodness. It was a great paper to write, too. My philosophy professor asked if I'd consider submitting it in a local Philosophical writing competition. Still deciding on that. Last of all, for my Worship Planning class, I had to design my own worship service down to a tee. That was a wonderful project! I really enjoyed it. I decided to design a Southwestern College Chapel service -- I centered it around one theme, "Light up the World" (I will attach the graphic I designed for class). That project really allowed me to be imaginative -- something I am really good at :). We presented our planned worship services for our final in class. It was a blessing to be in a group of so many wonderful worship planners. That pretty much summed up the semester for me.

On to Christmas happenings -- not much has happened yet. As I stated earlier, I went to my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Pat's house for a few days to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Kyle went along, of course, and my family was very adamant about him being there. They like him, I think ;). My Aunt Nancy loves to sew -- she quilts and does many other talented things. In the past, she made everyone in my family a stocking complete with our names embroidered on them. This year, she made one for Kyle! It was very thoughtful of her.

For the next few days I am staying at Kyle's family's house and will celebrate Christmas with them on the 27th. After that, I will be headed back to Holcomb and will hopefully be there to stay for awhile.

Next semester I am very excited for everything going on at school. I am taking 15 hours -- a full load, and part of that load includes a 5 hour practicum in Campus Ministry. I am very excited for that. I will also be transitioning in to be the college's chapel student admin. That should bring wonderful opportunities to dream as well. Anyways, Merry Christmas!! I will try to blog a bit more often.

Aristotelian Stand-Up

I really need to be studying for my Philosophy quiz on Aristotle tomorrow, but am finding other things to do instead. I've been doing school work since 1:30 and am tired of it. I thought I would come on here to write something updating, or thoughtful, but instead I find myself babbling away. Bishop Scott Jones of the United Methodist Church spoke at our chapel service today. He preached from Isaiah 6 on calling, and I was very encouraged. I've felt called to work in the United Methodist Church for a time now, but that calling really felt concrete during my time withProject Transformation this summer. I was able to experience so many different ministries and was indeed inspired. Now I am moving on toward breaking down a part of that calling -- seminary. AHHHH! Doesn't that shock and scare you all? It does me. Checking out Perkins and Asbury at the moment. But just checking. Hmmm.

I would also ask that you would pray for my dear two year old friend, Cole Teut. He is in need of so much prayer right now. He currently has only one kidney and he has a tumor in it. He's been receiving chemo, but his family found out today that the tumor is inoperable. They do not know what they are going to do quite yet. I'd ask that you would pray for him and his family. He means the world to me and to many others. I know and declare that his sickness is not of God. God never wishes pain on his people like this. He has been so faithful in answering many of the Teut's prayers. It's moments and times like these, when we pray, that I see God's Kingdom alive and moving at a great speed on earth. News like this shatters people -- but I pray that we can stand firm for his family. I was thinking today about how when sicknesses happen to people we often are sympathetic and move on. But when we are a part of the body of Christ, this sickness does not just affect his family, it affects all of us! This is our family member that is sick and needs our prayers and help, not just our sympathy. Anyways, I'd ask that you'd pray, pray, pray for my dear friend -- brother, Cole.

Ok, now back to Aristotle I go....