Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Active sitting gone awry
Today at work I interrupted Allie while she was VERY actively sitting by kicking the yoga ball out from underneath her. I'm not really sure why I did it. I know I when the thought entered my mind to tap the ball with the tip of my shoe I didn't picture clearly what reaction that would cause. I happened to tap it when she was mid-air, which moved the ball to the left. She came down, and nicked the side of the ball with her left hip- which sent her whole body flying immediately to the right about 2 feet where she crashed into my cubical wall and crumpled to the floor. Of course, this also happened at the end of the hallway, right as a bunch of missionaries and staff where coming out of the nearby conference room and saw the whole thing. Allie suffered only a minor cubical burn (similar to the carpet burn) on her knee which was the main body part that hit the wall. I fortunately was fine and for some reason, Allie forgave me and we're still friends. As far as we know we're also still both employed, which is key in a situation when you're playing with a large yoga ball while you're on the clock.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
One of my favorite things
When we were little we used to play a game with our dad called "one of our favorite things." It's when we experienced something that was a simple pleasure like getting a green light, having just the right amount of ketchup, or hearing a train whistle, and then we would mention it out loud and add it to our list. Tonight I had a evening of favorite things. First off, I ate dinner at a restaurant by myself. I don't do this often even though I do really like it, because you do sort of feel silly doing it. But what I like about it that it's nice getting to totally pick a place that you like-no indecision involved. I picked Athens Pizza, because I love pizza and most people I am around don't and pizza from Athens is extraordinary. I also got to eat dinner while reading a new book "Peace Like a River" AND listening to some new tunes on my ipod written by "Iron and Wine" (thanks Allie!!!). It was great and very relaxing. Then I headed over to Gates and Mel's house to hang out with them- my two great buds from college.
In light of posting a few of my favorite things, I wanted to post this picture of my dad because he used to make us cakes like this one when we were growing up, and they were awesome. Also a definite fave!
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Fight Club
Believe it or not, this post will be similar to the "Mediocrity" one, but it happens to go with "Fight Club" which is the movie I watched yesterday afternoon. If you've never seen that movie, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It's really disturbing. But for some reason, I also found it really intriging. I think I like movies that make you think, no matter what the content.
The main character is this movie is a real lame-o. He works as a insurance adjustor and travels around checking out insurance claims. The best thing in his life is his IKEA furniture. He loves loves loves it and generally loves all of his possessions. Right at the beginning of the movie he meets a guy named Tyler Durden who is everything he's not- cool, fun, and fearless. A relationship between them develops, and the "narrator" slowly learns the secret to having relationships and a life that matters- giving up control. He first realizes the necessity of giving up control when his condo burns down and he loses all of his possessions. Throughout the movie though it is mostly Tyler that forces him to continuously "let go" and "hit rock bottom." What I found intriging was how much this movie parallels the relationship we have in Christ. God is asking us to seek Him to fullfill our needs. He is asking us to let go and let Him be in control.
Strangely enough, the theme of today's sunday school class was similar to this. We are talking about the book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes which was written by Solomon who was a very wise and rich man. The question posed by our speaker was "How do we enjoy life without creating idols". Basically, how do we enjoy the things of this world that do make us happy and are fun, without letting them come between our relationship with Christ. That was what the IKEA furniture was to the lame-o guy, an idol, and he really was not happy or content. He never really learned in the movie how to enjoy life, and that His yearnings are actually only meant to be fullfilled in a relationship with God. He only knew the how-to-enjoy-the-things-of-this-world part. This was the main verse we talked about. This is Solomon talking:
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
He realized that nothing was ultimately gained in the seeking after of things in this world. He was happy with what he did, but it didn't ultimately fullfill Him. He needed to give up control, let his fullfillment be in Christ, and then enjoy the things of this world within the context of knowing that they are a gift from God and are not designed to give him ultimate happiness. This is how Tyler Durden put it: "It’s only after we’ve lost everything, that we’re free to do anything." ~ Fight Club
P.S. My idols are mostly TV and movies. If I had no obligations like a job or the Holy Spirit reminding me not to, I would literally watch Law and Order reruns and tons of movies all day long with a beer in one and hand and popcorn in the other. So don't assume I have this stuff figured out. But it's interesting stuff, I hope.
The main character is this movie is a real lame-o. He works as a insurance adjustor and travels around checking out insurance claims. The best thing in his life is his IKEA furniture. He loves loves loves it and generally loves all of his possessions. Right at the beginning of the movie he meets a guy named Tyler Durden who is everything he's not- cool, fun, and fearless. A relationship between them develops, and the "narrator" slowly learns the secret to having relationships and a life that matters- giving up control. He first realizes the necessity of giving up control when his condo burns down and he loses all of his possessions. Throughout the movie though it is mostly Tyler that forces him to continuously "let go" and "hit rock bottom." What I found intriging was how much this movie parallels the relationship we have in Christ. God is asking us to seek Him to fullfill our needs. He is asking us to let go and let Him be in control.
Strangely enough, the theme of today's sunday school class was similar to this. We are talking about the book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes which was written by Solomon who was a very wise and rich man. The question posed by our speaker was "How do we enjoy life without creating idols". Basically, how do we enjoy the things of this world that do make us happy and are fun, without letting them come between our relationship with Christ. That was what the IKEA furniture was to the lame-o guy, an idol, and he really was not happy or content. He never really learned in the movie how to enjoy life, and that His yearnings are actually only meant to be fullfilled in a relationship with God. He only knew the how-to-enjoy-the-things-of-this-world part. This was the main verse we talked about. This is Solomon talking:
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
He realized that nothing was ultimately gained in the seeking after of things in this world. He was happy with what he did, but it didn't ultimately fullfill Him. He needed to give up control, let his fullfillment be in Christ, and then enjoy the things of this world within the context of knowing that they are a gift from God and are not designed to give him ultimate happiness. This is how Tyler Durden put it: "It’s only after we’ve lost everything, that we’re free to do anything." ~ Fight Club
P.S. My idols are mostly TV and movies. If I had no obligations like a job or the Holy Spirit reminding me not to, I would literally watch Law and Order reruns and tons of movies all day long with a beer in one and hand and popcorn in the other. So don't assume I have this stuff figured out. But it's interesting stuff, I hope.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Read this before eating anything else
Amy promoting good digestion at the Braves game
Did you know that chocolate and mint together promotes good digestion, which is why many restaurants give you Andes mints after a meal?
Who KNEW! Thanks Amy Mo for today's fun fact, and Ken for your sweet camera. No thanks goes to the Braves who lost 8-0 to the Marlins.
Did you know that chocolate and mint together promotes good digestion, which is why many restaurants give you Andes mints after a meal?
Who KNEW! Thanks Amy Mo for today's fun fact, and Ken for your sweet camera. No thanks goes to the Braves who lost 8-0 to the Marlins.
Tonight was so fun
Tonight I got to do a couple of super cool things. First off I hung out with my Caritas person whom I haven't seen in several weeks. Our relationship has moved more into friendship now and it was so neat to see that transition tonight. We were both able to openly share our thoughts on our ever-changing families, and on relationships in general. I would say it's "eerie" how similar we are in many ways. I use the word "eerie" because I've never quite seen the sovereign hand of God at work like how he allowed us to cross paths last summer. We met under circumstances that were not pleasant-both of us have experienced the sudden loss of our mothers while we were young, and while they were young (by US standards of how long people live). It's so nice to have a kindred spirit like I have in her because I do not know many people who have had to walk this same path, and neither does she. We have soo many little things in common, but yet it could only be God that we could have ever met. It's cool too to see how much both of us have been blessed in this relationship, especially now that I am beginning my couseling career in August. Wow- that's weird to "say"!
Later on I babysat for Jack who is 4 1/2 now and is sooo much fun. He wanted to come over to my house to play on the treadmill, which basically involves letting it run on a slow speed and then he drops down and slides off it onto a pillow. I think that's really the only way you can enjoy a treadmill. We also ate ice cream and watched part of Finding Nemo before I had to bring him home and put him to bed. Earlier that evening before his parents, Chuck and Shannon, left we all had dinner together and while Shannon was getting ready, Chuck was asking me about how the Caritas ministry was going. I was telling him about how Earl W. is in charge now and that he is older. But with that comes incredible wisdom. When he encourages us with different verses from the Bible it's like I've never ever read them before. And you can tell he really cares about our group, which is exactly what we need after being without a leader for almost a year. Chuck said that maybe because he's been a Christian for so long and has been sanctified to be more like Christ for so many years, that maybe our group is seeing how the "rough edges" that we all have as sinners are just more sanded down on Earl. I've never really thought about how we all would be like after years of sanctification..that maybe our current struggles won't always be..or maybe we'll just have different ones, but more able to handle them in a Godly manner. Any thoughts?
Later on I babysat for Jack who is 4 1/2 now and is sooo much fun. He wanted to come over to my house to play on the treadmill, which basically involves letting it run on a slow speed and then he drops down and slides off it onto a pillow. I think that's really the only way you can enjoy a treadmill. We also ate ice cream and watched part of Finding Nemo before I had to bring him home and put him to bed. Earlier that evening before his parents, Chuck and Shannon, left we all had dinner together and while Shannon was getting ready, Chuck was asking me about how the Caritas ministry was going. I was telling him about how Earl W. is in charge now and that he is older. But with that comes incredible wisdom. When he encourages us with different verses from the Bible it's like I've never ever read them before. And you can tell he really cares about our group, which is exactly what we need after being without a leader for almost a year. Chuck said that maybe because he's been a Christian for so long and has been sanctified to be more like Christ for so many years, that maybe our group is seeing how the "rough edges" that we all have as sinners are just more sanded down on Earl. I've never really thought about how we all would be like after years of sanctification..that maybe our current struggles won't always be..or maybe we'll just have different ones, but more able to handle them in a Godly manner. Any thoughts?
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
"Active Sitting" office craze coming to a cube near you
Top Ten ways to determine if your office has been hit by the "Active Sitting" craze like mine has:
10. Complants of back problems have mysteriously disappeared.
9. You have sudden urge to run out to Marshalls to get a yoga ball just so you can be just like everyone else.
8. All of the office-issued chairs sit empty in the hallways.
7. Each morning you can hear the "squeak squeak squeak" as a new ball is being pumped up to the perfect size.
6. The only question anyone cares about is "did you get a medium or a large?"
5. You have to squelch all urges to pick up your ball and bounce it.
4. You now speak only while bouncing; for example: "Thank you...for calling...and asking...about missions"
3. You constantly worry about whether or not you will fall into the cublicle wall causing a domino effect down the aisle.
2. You come out of the bathroom and see heads bouncing above the cubicle walls all over the office.
1. Your ever-skeptical co-worker Daniel asks you to pick up one for him (pictures to prove it are pending).
10. Complants of back problems have mysteriously disappeared.
9. You have sudden urge to run out to Marshalls to get a yoga ball just so you can be just like everyone else.
8. All of the office-issued chairs sit empty in the hallways.
7. Each morning you can hear the "squeak squeak squeak" as a new ball is being pumped up to the perfect size.
6. The only question anyone cares about is "did you get a medium or a large?"
5. You have to squelch all urges to pick up your ball and bounce it.
4. You now speak only while bouncing; for example: "Thank you...for calling...and asking...about missions"
3. You constantly worry about whether or not you will fall into the cublicle wall causing a domino effect down the aisle.
2. You come out of the bathroom and see heads bouncing above the cubicle walls all over the office.
1. Your ever-skeptical co-worker Daniel asks you to pick up one for him (pictures to prove it are pending).
Monday, June 20, 2005
My hair looked really good today
I went to a wedding shower today for an extremely nice and caring girl in our singles group. A bunch of us were there celebrating with her and giving her cool stuff that none of us would be excited about unless we were getting married ourselves. I was never prepared for how often I would be attending wedding showers as a person in their mid-20's. And to be honest I usually leave these showers slightly more deflated then I was upon arrival. It's never the bride-to-be's fault. I've never been to a shower where the bride wasn't overly thankful and excited that you came and gave her that sweet cheese grater she really wanted. But for some reason I always leave showers (and weddings too for that matter) analyzing my own lack-of-a-dating-life and wondering the age old question "why not me?" I mean today I had a great hair day. I don't think any guy couldn't have been attracted to my hair today. I also think I'm funny and have other attributes that most people find charming enough. However, I have not been asked out on a date in three years. I also know other equally great people who have never been asked out on a date. Fortunately, most of the time my self worth is not wrapped up in how many times I've been asked out. But it would be nice to at least feel wanted.
Today as I left to go to a friend's going away party, one of my roommates said "you look really cute tonight." That helped a ton. It's so nice to know that someone notices you're trying to put your best foot forward. And I know that when God's timing is right for me to date and marry my husband- it's going to be awesome. And yes, I do want the Williams-Sonoma cheese grater.
Today as I left to go to a friend's going away party, one of my roommates said "you look really cute tonight." That helped a ton. It's so nice to know that someone notices you're trying to put your best foot forward. And I know that when God's timing is right for me to date and marry my husband- it's going to be awesome. And yes, I do want the Williams-Sonoma cheese grater.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Mediocrity
At the praise and worship time I just went to I could tell that God was really doing a number on my heart. I have realized that lately I have been so satisfied with mediocrity in my Christian walk. I sort of study the bible when I want; praying here and there. I have no set time where I set everything aside to concentrate on His word and really focus on praying. I mainly tell myself that this is ok behavior for me because I'm busy and I'm involved with so many good things that surely this is enough for God. But where am I really seeking my pleasure? If someone could observe me all day every day, what would they say I value most? Would it be God? I think the honest answer would be no. Tonight I really saw that through the scriptures we read and the songs we sang. I really want to make a change in this area. I think my personality is so "ho hum everything's fine" that I don't take the time to really evaluate what I'm doing and is this really what God wants. My soul is not made to be satisfied with wordly things. It was created by God and can only experience true delight in Him. I think sometimes business is something that the devil can use to distract us from really taking the time to be with God. All of my activities can become an idol which replaces true worship of God.
This is a quote that I think helps explain this futher. Beware, it can be shocking. It still is to me even though I've read it a bunch of times. But I think it is good to be shocked sometimes because it forces us to think outside of our comfort boxes. Also, I do believe that God did create us to be able to enjoy life and have fun, but at the same time those things are different then true delight and satisfaction, which can be found only by seeking God.
"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." ~C.S. Lewis
This is a quote that I think helps explain this futher. Beware, it can be shocking. It still is to me even though I've read it a bunch of times. But I think it is good to be shocked sometimes because it forces us to think outside of our comfort boxes. Also, I do believe that God did create us to be able to enjoy life and have fun, but at the same time those things are different then true delight and satisfaction, which can be found only by seeking God.
"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." ~C.S. Lewis
Thursday, June 16, 2005
My cousin Sean
I did want to post something about my visitor last weekend. My cousin Sean who is from Minnesota came to visit and we did a ton of fun stuff. We got to see the Cola-Cola museum, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Zoo Atlanta, the new cartoon flick "Madagascar", and have dinner with my Atlanta Ringsmuth cousins. A lot of those things I had never even done before.
Let me tell you something about Sean. He has the most flexible personality ever. Everything we did he was so super excited about. Even when the weather was kind of bad on Sunday and it started raining the minute we got out of the car to walk into the zoo. I made the suggestion that we go see a movie and he said "yeah, that sounds fun" like it's no big deal. And we got to go to the zoo and get Jake's ice cream (famously good Atlanta ice cream) on Monday before he left. There was one particularly neat thing about Sean's visit that I didn't anticipate. Because my mom used to spend a lot of time with Sean and even lived with his family for a period of time, Sean brought up the most fun and unique memories of her. For example, in my house, we have two fireplaces and Sean and I got to talking about them and whether or not we use them. Then Sean told me that when my mom lived with them while she was trying to recover she used to love to sit in their living room by the fireplace. He said that everytime he looks at that fireplace now he thinks of her. It was the coolest thing having someone like him around to reiminise with.
I think Sean also had a great time which is good because this visit was his Christmas present and Santa doesn't give refunds. So hopefully he will tell everyone how fun it was so that my out of town family and friends won't be able to resist coming to visit too!
Let me tell you something about Sean. He has the most flexible personality ever. Everything we did he was so super excited about. Even when the weather was kind of bad on Sunday and it started raining the minute we got out of the car to walk into the zoo. I made the suggestion that we go see a movie and he said "yeah, that sounds fun" like it's no big deal. And we got to go to the zoo and get Jake's ice cream (famously good Atlanta ice cream) on Monday before he left. There was one particularly neat thing about Sean's visit that I didn't anticipate. Because my mom used to spend a lot of time with Sean and even lived with his family for a period of time, Sean brought up the most fun and unique memories of her. For example, in my house, we have two fireplaces and Sean and I got to talking about them and whether or not we use them. Then Sean told me that when my mom lived with them while she was trying to recover she used to love to sit in their living room by the fireplace. He said that everytime he looks at that fireplace now he thinks of her. It was the coolest thing having someone like him around to reiminise with.
I think Sean also had a great time which is good because this visit was his Christmas present and Santa doesn't give refunds. So hopefully he will tell everyone how fun it was so that my out of town family and friends won't be able to resist coming to visit too!
Food like none other
It was a very looooong day for me today filled with computer problems at work and my friend Allie's story about how her car CD player was stolen again for the second time in nine months. Oh yeah, this time they also took her yoga mat. So if you see someone in the Duluth area walking around with a CD player and yoga mat, it's got to be him. So anyway, definitely no revelations happened today to I decided to post one of my favorite pics from my visit to Germany and Italy last fall. WOW was the food there soo good!
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Good times in the backyard
Posted by: jessrings
My cousin Sean is visiting and we've been having a great time playing tourist in my home city of Atlanta!! He was asking me about pictures of my family and I came across this one of me and my brother. Awww..aren't we cute.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Published!!
I found out today that an article I wrote was published in MTW's quarterly magazine "The Network". About a month ago I interviewed one of the intern missionaries I help coach about her experience at our global mission conference that MTW organized last November. They chose to print it in this issue! It has my name, the article, and the picture of the intern I interviewed. It's a pretty short article but nonetheless it's cool to see it in print. If you'd like to see a copy of it, let me know!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
While I was rearranging my room
In preparation for my cousin Sean to come tomorrow, today I was dusting, picking up and generally rearranging my room. It was long overdue so I am glad for opportunities like this that really force me to clean because I sort of put it off....a lot. Anyways, there are a lot of things on display in my room that remind me of my mom that I don't take the time always to really think and look at them. Generally I think that's ok because it can be painful still. However, I was reminded during my cleaning of two of my favorite things, which are these cards my mom sent me in college. She would occasionally send me these cards whenever she thought of me and they always had the two key things that a college student would need- money and supportive/encouraging words. I wanted to share with you one of the cards she sent me that I got around my junior year of college. I think she wrote this while she was on vacation with her sister Ann.
The card says: "Even though we don't see each other that much, or talk as often as I'd like, you are always in my thoughts....(flip to the inside)...and always in my heart."
She wrote on the inside: "Jessica- As you read this card I'm in sunny Mexico. Hope this card and money finds you happy and content in the Lord. Ironically we are studying Romans 5:1-5 at church. To this day it surprises me how much disciples are needed in this world like you."
Although this does still bring tears to my eyes it is so neat to be reassurred that my mom always knew what to say to me to encourage me on. I can't tell her physically that I got into graduate school, but somehow I know that she knows and is proud. Sean, can't wait to see you tomorrow!
The card says: "Even though we don't see each other that much, or talk as often as I'd like, you are always in my thoughts....(flip to the inside)...and always in my heart."
She wrote on the inside: "Jessica- As you read this card I'm in sunny Mexico. Hope this card and money finds you happy and content in the Lord. Ironically we are studying Romans 5:1-5 at church. To this day it surprises me how much disciples are needed in this world like you."
Although this does still bring tears to my eyes it is so neat to be reassurred that my mom always knew what to say to me to encourage me on. I can't tell her physically that I got into graduate school, but somehow I know that she knows and is proud. Sean, can't wait to see you tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Sooooo nice
One of my roommates gave me flowers yesterday and a card to congratulate me on getting into grad school. I've also now had two consecutive celebratory dinners with them. Last week they prayed with me because I was having trouble sleeping. They are great. I love my "family" of five!!
~You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told~ Psalm 40:5
~You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told~ Psalm 40:5
Segregated Churches
I am sitting here in my house doing what you are never supposed to do- use the computer in a thunderstorm. But I love storms and this one is just brillant. I watched the lightning all the way home from work today and now I'm listening to the thunder roar and rain putter. It's great. I'm justifying my writing this in the storm because it's making for a very "creative" ambience here in the house. Hopefully the lightning won't creatively find a way to shock my typing fingers.
I wanted to mention a conversation I had last weekend with a fellow co-worker named Barbara. I spend last weekend in Brevard, North Carolina at our department's prefield training which we do once a year at Ridge Haven Conference Center. Barbara had never been to prefield before and I had never really had much interaction with her before this. But her room ended up being connected to ours, and she would come over most nights and talk to us single staff girls who were rooming together. One of the first things you notice about Barbara is that she is black. I don't think I'm supposed to say that out loud. But it's true. That's the first thing I notice, and I would be willing to bet that most others in our normal circles would notice the same. We had a delightful conversation about churches in America and the struggle of segregation that most congregations have. I think that in general churches try to reach out to others different from them. In my church's case that usually means reaching out to Chinese (we have a huge population that work near our church) and other internationals. But even in Atlanta where there are probably an even amount of white and black people, my church is almost exclusively white. All of my friends (all of whom are white pretty much) go to other churches like mine. This greatly confuses me. In the south I realize that we have more issues with blending races and treating each other with respect. However, I think this is a statewide issue. I know that most blacks and whites prefer to worship in different ways, which helps to explain the segregation. But how can we as brothers and sisters in Christ get to know each other's passions and needs if we can't often come together as a common body of Christ? I left the conversation wanting to DO something. I asked Barbara what can be done. She said at this point just to pray-that we can understand each other, that I can get to know other blacks in my community, and that we would seek to know one another as human beings and friends.
I wanted to mention a conversation I had last weekend with a fellow co-worker named Barbara. I spend last weekend in Brevard, North Carolina at our department's prefield training which we do once a year at Ridge Haven Conference Center. Barbara had never been to prefield before and I had never really had much interaction with her before this. But her room ended up being connected to ours, and she would come over most nights and talk to us single staff girls who were rooming together. One of the first things you notice about Barbara is that she is black. I don't think I'm supposed to say that out loud. But it's true. That's the first thing I notice, and I would be willing to bet that most others in our normal circles would notice the same. We had a delightful conversation about churches in America and the struggle of segregation that most congregations have. I think that in general churches try to reach out to others different from them. In my church's case that usually means reaching out to Chinese (we have a huge population that work near our church) and other internationals. But even in Atlanta where there are probably an even amount of white and black people, my church is almost exclusively white. All of my friends (all of whom are white pretty much) go to other churches like mine. This greatly confuses me. In the south I realize that we have more issues with blending races and treating each other with respect. However, I think this is a statewide issue. I know that most blacks and whites prefer to worship in different ways, which helps to explain the segregation. But how can we as brothers and sisters in Christ get to know each other's passions and needs if we can't often come together as a common body of Christ? I left the conversation wanting to DO something. I asked Barbara what can be done. She said at this point just to pray-that we can understand each other, that I can get to know other blacks in my community, and that we would seek to know one another as human beings and friends.
Monday, June 06, 2005
It finally came
Approximately one month and five days ago, I decided to apply to graduate school. It was sort of an uncharacteristic, spur of the moment decision for me, so it felt weird to do it because that's not normally in my nature to make a big decision without taking some time to process. But sometimes I think the Lord just lands opportunties in your lap and says..."do it..follow me." That's how I felt this was for me. My roommate Jamie and I went to this particular school's preview day on April 2, and as a result of the information I got and the people I met, I felt like I would be a fool not to at least apply and try it out. It ended up being a very encouraging process. My job, my references, my friends, my mentors, and my family all were very excited about it. That's always good to know when you're making a huge decision that people don't say you're a wacko for doing it. I applied to a Christian counseling graduate school called Psychological Studies Institute (PSI). It's here in Atlanta. I applied for the fall of 2005 to start part-time in the Masters of Arts in Professional Counseling Degree, and I hope to use it some day on the mission field. Then I waited. And waited. Then I went out of town last weekend for work so I was forced to stop daily chasing down my roommate Heather who gets the mail in my house for any word that she may have picked up that day from PSI. So today I got back into town and got home and TODAY WAS THE DAY. The letter sat on my bed. Smaller then I expected but that's ok. I got in. I will be going to graduate school! God is good.
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