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the public square: save darfur

There is a lot to learn.

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Organize your Campus" that's worth checking out...

Students across the country are joining together to help the people of Darfur. Young people have historically played a leading role in the fight for social justice; and the movement to end the genocide in Darfur has been no different. Well before most of the international…

I think it's important that we, as Christians, know whats going on in the world. This would be a way to educate yourself in the public square. It maybe isn't as cool or as flashy as invisible children yet, but it shouldn't have to be. Let's do something about this genocide.

you jump, but really, you just walk

i'm blogging now. today is the 23rd of february, in the 2007th year since the birth of Christ. That's right. i'm in pcj #11 and i am enjoying my ipod shuffle, exodus, iced coffee, and my zlaty journal. i don't get to blog much any more and i don't really know why that is. when i'm out and about i usually think of 10-15 topics that would be suitable and somewhat interesting to blog on, yet they never make it here. i'm not going to try to list them here, as my mind isn't as good at cataloging as it should be here in my 26th year. my heart is so full, i wonder if that transfers over to you, like, do you get what i mean when i say my heart is full?i just read in exodus about the instructions of what God wanted for His tabernacle, a place for Him to dwell among the people of Israel. That really makes me think about God's character, God didn't have to instruct them to build a tabernacle, but He so desires a relationship with us that He longed to be with His people. I love that. I love how God is paving the way for His Son to redeem us to Himself, so that Jesus can live in us! I don't get all of that, how it happens, the details, the transfiguration, the justification, i do get the sanctification - cause i feel it, often, that I'm being molded and shaped like dough, play dough, cookie dough, any kind of dough (thats from zoolander).
Something interesting has happened to me recently, i've started to realize the importance of what i do, way more than i did when i first joined staff. does this happen? i guess it does. there is a sense to which God only allows us to see what we need to see for the moment. His grace is sufficient, because His power is perfected in weakness.
I also, really have started to love God's word more and feel freedom in reading the Bible and spending time with the Lord, not tied or legalistic, these things I credit to Him, the one who saved me and redeems me daily.

i keep thinking

Well, you can't just stop, so in a sense, the title is lost. I do; I just keep thinking about things I want to broadcast to the world, like a dear college road blog, or a blog about settling, and perhaps one about the value of life, or about ministry, or about trajectory, or maybe about where God is leading me. There are so many possiblities, and I'm trying to catch up. I wish technology was so, that when I was thinking these things I could hit a button on my computer chip hand and my thoughts would become a blog - at a moment of my choosing. Obviously it's not always good to have your thoughts spread about a portion of webspace. Maybe just maybe I'll catch up to myself. This is a picture I took downton at the help center. I don't know why we call it that - but we do. Eventually I'll blog again. Until then...

childlike

She's memorizing catechism questions for kids...and she's not even 3. We all should aim a little higher.

on the other side

so this is my second attempt at writing a new post on this here blog. i did learn that blog is a mating of two words web log, and someone started calling it blog. that was free info just for you.

it's fall break and most everyone has skipped town, including my roommates, lauren, and most of the students. i'm pretty sure i haven't had this much free time on my hands in a really long time. it feels good, but it also feels lonely. i went to the gym and then to pcj to get an anna bananna and i sat there reading the encore and thinking about how lonely life is without people. and okay, that sounds like a not-so-smart comment. but really, my life is filled with amazing people, and i can't quite imagine what it would be like without them. it makes me think of those students or those young professionals who haven't found community or authenticity or a place to fit. i'm just pretty darn convinced that my life would be 80zillionmillion times harder without people who love me in it.

i'm still reading real sex, but i'm almost done and i'll have to say i'm learning a lot through it. just about real issues and the way we think about sex, and what that looks like inside of a marriage relationship. i think it's a book worth reading, especially to you out there who has a distorted view of sex. which, is probably everyone. the book is designed for those who are waiting for marraige, but i think just about anyone can benefit.

now that i'm on the other side of the busyness of fall, i am thanking God for all that He's done, and the new students that he brought in. It's really amazing. With 19 functioning small groups in every dorm on campus and students who are owning the mission, God is working and changing uncw for Christ. i'm just excited to be a part of it.

i'm just hanging around here this fall break and looking forward to tomorrow, i get to do grow zone for 2 services, how awesome. i love those kids and teaching them that Jesus is their friend forever. :)

kingdom of couches

well so. here it is the day after ashley's wedding. the day before i go back to wilmington, a month after my return to america. 3 days before report date, 5 days before freshmen move in. life seems interesting these days. last night i had this really great time with everyone at the wedding, i had a few moments of thinking about life and how funny it is. how some people get married, some stay married, some stay friends with you, some think they can plan out their lives, or think they should appear as if they have it all together. some haven't quite figured out who they are yet, and are finding their identity in possessions, people, substance, instead of in Christ. so i was thinking about all of this, but i was also thinking about where i am now, and how much i love my life, the challenges before me, the things God has allowed me to walk through, who i am today, who i will be tomorrow, and why God has put me where He has. it's all so very interesting and things that i don't really think about often. one thing i know for sure, is that i am completely willing to go where God sends me and completely unwilling to give in to worldly junk that doesn't satisfy. it's certainly been a process of where i am now, where i will live, trusting God with every detail and more, because certainly i can get lost in the monotony of life. the bigger picture is before us, we've just gotta look up. and so, i was also thinking about community. and what that means, and how a lot of churches long to create it, we as cru strive to build community, yet, we're spread out across america in our one bedroom's wondering at why we fall into isolation, or why we can't make friends, or why it's hard to find fellowship...i think it's still so hard for me to understand, and i want to learn more, i think we're called to way more than comfort. i'm not quite sure what that looks like in the daily life style, but i'm pretty sure it's a lot different than what we're doing. this isn't just about you, this is about me. i want to defintely find out what it is in me that prevents me from living in community, and build up to life unrestrained. kingdom of couches is a name of a book that i will read as soon as i finish changes that heal, which has in fact changed and healed me. it's a book that i recommend to anyone anywhere who mentors, disciples, and is walking with the Lord. it is really life changing.