Advent Reading: Week Three

I was hoping to at least do one post per week on Advent, but I missed last week. Oh well.

This week's theme was on anticipating joy. Anticipating the approach of Christmas Day, renewal, and salvation. Waiting patiently but hopefully. I have to admit this is a good but difficult practice for me. Most of the time I don't like to wait and when I have to, I tend to despair or get angry, not more hopeful. But then, I thought about childhood and waiting for a special gift. That kind of waiting I really never minded. I enjoyed all the anticipation.

So I am trying to apply more of my anticipatory Christmas joy to the other areas of my life that I need to wait with hope and joy in my heart.

I think the biggest area for me to wait with hopefully anticipation right now is in Fund Raising. Working with InterVarsity, a non-profit Christian ministry, affords me lots of opportunities I might not otherwise have in other jobs. One of these opportunities is in personally gathering support (financially, emotionally, spiritually) for the work I do, for the students I serve, and for the campus I am sent to.

I believe in fund raising; I even think God came up with this idea and that its biblical. More than that, I believe in the work that God is doing through me and through InterVarsity. If you want to know more about my philosophy and ethic on fund raising just ask, I am definitely open to discussing it. But that is not the focus of this particular discussion.

This week, with my students gone back home for the holidays, I have been focusing on my funding. Trying to use my time wisely and prepare for the spring. I have been praying often. And I realize this is just a hard area for me to believe, truly believe, that God will provide. I know (in my head, sometimes) that he will. I have experienced him provide before. I even had an unexpectedly large donation just this week! Thank you Jesus!

But when I really examine my heart I know that I have room to grow in living in this season with anticipatory joy, looking forward to January, expectant to see all the ways the Lord has provided for our family and this ministry. So I have been praying each day this week "Lord because you have called me and you are faithful, I believe you will do this."

I am very thankful that Jehovah has been faithful, is faithful, and forever shall be faithful. So for now, I try to wait on him, rest in his unfailing character (rather than my own worries) and anticipate with great joy celebrating his faithfulness.

Regional Staff Conference

I love working for InterVarsity. I love the work I do, I love my students, I love my co-workers, and I love my boss (who wouldn't want to work for Jesus?). I do have staff partners here in College Station with me  (below is a pic of me with Carolyn my staff partner at A&M) and for them I am very grateful, but I also have over 30 other co-workers that are scattered across Texas and Oklahoma. I do not get to see all of them very often, but once a year we all gather together to celebrate, reconnect, rest, receive training, and updates on the ministry in the region. This gathering is called our Regional Staff Conference and it was just last week. We focused on Spiritual Develop this year. It was refreshing and challenging. I am hoping to bring back some good habits to home and campus...its so easy to neglect ourselves as we pour out into students. I am so grateful for the guidance and time with Jesus I received at the conference.

We held it at Camp Tejas this year and last. Checkout their website! If you are interested in holding a retreat, conference, or just vacation in Texas you should check it out its awesome! We stayed in the building called the Four Seasons; every room is named and decorated based on a month of the year. I am including pics of our room this year, we stayed May. :) It had a nautical/lake house theme. Please excuse the messiness, we were in the midst of packing up when I took these.

These are my roomates, Sara and Sarah; they are on staff at Texas Tech and UT Austin (respectively). We usually room together at camps and conferences. I just love these women. They have awesome insight, godly wisdom, ask good questions, and are great listeners. Its always so fun to room together, its a little like a sleepover, or being back in college with roommates.So fun!

Crazy Christian Store

Drew and I had some time to hang out over Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! We hung out together in Bryan/College Station for a few days before heading up to North Texas to visit family.

One of the days we ended up going to the mall to browse the stores and see all the Christmas decorations. We ended walking past a Christian store that had some pretty interesting things on display. We just thought it was funny and would like to share:

Yup the two most prominent displays in the store were for a Christian version of Guitar Hero (which admittedly would be cool if it allows you to play popular praise songs) and a HUGE Chuck Norris table. Check out that round house kick caricature on the second picture!
Regarding Guitar Praise - I would just appreciate if Jesus followers would use some creativity in coming up with fun games to play rather than feeling a need to a) sink to the commercialism of every other toy producer and b) "clean up" already created products.
Regarding Chuck Norris - I have not read his book, so I have no comment on it. We just think Chuck Norris is funny :)

World AIDS Day

In honor of world AIDS day I thought I would post this article. It was sent to me by ACT:S which is part of World Vision. The article is by York Moore, he was our speaker last year at Breakthrough, where two of my students decided to follow Jesus for the first time!

Here is the link to the article as I cant fit it properly here on our blog.
York Moore "Why Should Christians Care About Anything At All?"

Advent Reading: Week One

I have been reading out of a new book I received for my time with Jesus in the mornings, its called Living the Christian Year by Bobby Gross (IVP). It is gives suggested prayers and scripture readings throughout the year focused on the traditional celebrations, seasons, and feast days in the Christian calendar.

I like it because even though I am reading by myself, it allows me to remember and know that I am part of something bigger. I am participating in something communal that women and men all over the world are taking part in. It also appeals to the Historian in me. :)

Today I read Isaiah 11:1-10. This week is focus on the longing and yearning we have for the Lord, for his Kingdom, and for the peace he alone can bring. I think many of us have experienced excitement and even a sense of longing for Christmas...a time to see family and friends, rest from work, step away from a diet, receiving and giving gifts, etc. To me, it has been good to reflect back on where that sense of longing really comes from. We live in a fallen world, where we are conscious of our flaws and the flaws of those around us more often than not. And yet, at Christmas we often have a feeling that brokenness and pain should not be. Sometimes we try to mask it with the bright lights, parties, presents, food, and company. (I am not saying these things are bad at all, but they are no solution in themselves).

I have been reminded that I am not so very different from men and women living over 2000 years ago, with great political upheaval, disease, hunger, unemployment, fear, and uncertainty surrounding them. I long for peace, health, an end to hunger, genocide, war, and even death. I long for people to live with purpose and hope. I long for a King who is good, righteous, just, powerful, and loving. I long for him to bring a Kingdom where evil cannot stand.

I know there is such a King and that he lived on this earth, and is coming back one day. So I try to honor him this week, the first week of Advent by longing for him and his Kingdom.