Light

Two things before this blog actually begins:
1.  It almost didn't happen.
                   I started to do my Chemistry homework and it turns out I've already completed it.  I don't remember what it covered, but it's done, so I have the time to blog.
2.  Parts of this blog were written last year for a writing assignment that I was given.

At my old elementary school, in fourth grade, you have a homeroom teacher and a reading teacher.  Because of this, for about thirty minutes or an hour each day each student leaves their homeroom teacher's classroom and goes to their reading class. My reading teacher was a fantastic teacher.  She kept us busy reading to us, having us read, assigning interesting projects, and performing skits and plays for the school.  She taught in such a way that you almost didn't realize that you were learning.

Not only was she a great reading teacher because we were always doing and learning something in her reading class, but she also taught my class at "Crusaders Club."  Crusaders Club is a program that happens every Thursday night at the Baptist church in my hometown.  My teacher would patiently teach the small class Bible stories and how to memorize verses.  She would also share stories about missionaries who lived all the way around the world.  To be able to see how my reading teacher acted outside of school and how my Crusaders Club teacher acted in school was a great privilege for me.

She knew how to lead students through their coursework so that they would be motivated.  What she taught me in Crusaders Club through her words has been useful in my life.  What she taught me at school, through her actions, has been invaluable in my life.  At Crusaders, she taught me the facts of the Bible and told me stories of great Christina people.  But in school, while she was teaching me new words and themes in books, I got to watch a great Christian woman live her life as a woman of great faith, great compassion, and great love.  I got to learn how a great Christian woman lights up the world around her with the love of Jesus.

Throughout my life, I've been exposed to some pretty amazing teachers.  They have taught me much more than how to read and how to add numbers.  They have lived out their faith in the classroom.  They didn't preach about it or talk about it in the schoolroom, but I could tell.  They lived their lives in a way that was different then the rest of the world.  They lived their lives to show the love of Jesus.  (Thanks to all my amazing teachers!!)

Now as I look back on those years I have to wonder, "How much I of what I learned am I applying to my life?  Can others see that there is something different about me?  Am I truly living my life as a light, pointed towards Christ?

You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:4-16

Week Eight

I am now in week eight of my college career.  It does not feel like I have been in college for two months, but I have.  It doesn't feel like am halfway through my first semester, but I am.  It does not feel like I should have a routine, but I do.

There are times in life when things do not feel real, but they are.  About a month ago was the yearlong anniversary of the death of Danny Zaragoza, a little boy who lived in Mexico.  A year ago he went to be with Jesus in heaven.  It does not feel like a year has passed since I heard about his death on a Sunday morning.  It still does not feel like I have grieved properly for him.  How do you grieve for a child's death?  How do you adjust to not having him around when he already wasn't nearby?  I feel that the first time I visit his family, I will still expect to see him.  Instead, I will see a family, scarred from the hurt of losing a brother and a son, but healing with the Lord's help.

Truthfully, that is what I need to depend on in my extended grieving for Danny.  The Lord.  The Lord can heal my heart.  The Lord can help me grow to be where I need to be as a pseudo-adult a quarter of the way through her freshman year of college.  The Lord can help me form my routine so that I have time to give to him and time to give to my studies.  The Lord will be with me. :)

If you would like to read Danny's mom's blog about what his family did to celebrate the one year anniversary of Danny moving in with Jesus, click here. 

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.  I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.  I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.  I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

Psalms 3:3-6

Pancakes at 2am

First and foremost: An apology.  I'm sorry that I did not blog last week.  Quite simply, I had homework and needed a break.  The blog hit the back burner.

This weekend I got 18 hours of sleep.  It was glorious.  However, it is not this weekend, but the weekend before that that I would like to blog about.  I have gotten involved with a ministry here that does various things on campus.  On homecoming weekend, they decided to serve free pancakes.  Apparently, most people on college campuses are not morning people.  (I knew that beforehand, it's just a bit more exaggerated than I had anticipated).  Because most people are up late at night, the most logical time to serve pancakes is not on a Saturday morning.  Basically, they decided to serve pancakes from 10:00pm on Friday until 2:00am on Saturday.  I decided to help out with this, even though I'm typically not a late night person.  I wake up before around 6:15-6:30 most days of the week.

I really enjoyed being able to help out with this unique ministry.  My group started by walking around campus handing out flyers to let people know about the free pancakes.  After that, around midnight, we went back to the house where we ate some pancakes and socialized with the people that had come to get pancakes.  We let them know who was behind the pancakes and informed them about other events that the ministry has.  We did this for about an hour and then went into the building where we prayed for the event for the last hour.  I had anticipated feeling completely exhausted by that time, but I didn't.

To be honest, this was an event that wasn't something I would normally do.  It's not that I don't like pancakes.  It's more that I am one of the few college students who actually wakes up on Saturday morning most of the time.  In reality though, doing it when it was most logical and convenient for me would not have been nearly as effective.  They give out the pancakes late at night because they know that that is when they will be in demand.  Because they match the demand, they can have a much greater impact.

What I'm really trying to say is, you don't want to be of the world, because then you make no impact.  However you do want to be in the world, because that is when the real impact can be made.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo, Jo