hymns

Feeling a little stressed this evening as I hang out in jenks…so hey, why not take some time to blog? Seemed like a good solution to me J

We sang a hymn that really made me happy last week: "The Church’s One Foundation." I think I got excited about it because shalom was still on my mind and this hymn talks about the unity of Christ. Although that doesn’t seem like it relates to peace, I think it just magnified Jesus’ love and ability to be a God of all nations, no matter our differences (culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc. etc.). It also made me think of my dear grandmother who absolutely LOVES hymns…and I could just picture her playing on the piano and singing away. As a matter of fact, my other grandmother loves hymns as well and I always like to see their excitement when they play them in Church (this is not a common occurence in my Church, and if we do sing them, it is usually with guitar and piano) I would not consider myself a usual hymn-lover, but I think if I try a little harder to pay attention to the words of these songs, I will appreciate them a lot more and see their truth and light…I’ll keep working on that one J

The Church’s One Foundation (#277)

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation by water and the word:
From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life He died

Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy flood, and to one hope she presses,with every grace endured

‘Mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation of peace forever more;
till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest,
and the great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in one,
and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee
A-men

shalom

i wish blogspot.com let me put shalom in cursive .. it would be so much more fitting, but alas, this will have to do.

The latest issue of “Stillpoint” (Gordon College's periodical) made me think a little bit about peace...and i was grateful that it opened my eyes to a more expansive definition of peace.

Living and learning at a Christian liberal arts school has challenged, encouraged, and nurtured my faith in many areas and i am so grateful for the many classes, lectures, and discussions that i have been able to be a part of. sometimes though, i struggle with frequent dialogue about world issues that occurs often in chapel, convocation, classes, etc. I struggle with it partly because these issues are so big and i have no idea how to even begin to pray/think about what to do (and my failure is simply to move on and pray about things that i see as having more immediate relevance to my life), and partly because there exists so much brokenness locally on campus and in relationships. i believe that world issues matter deeply to Christ, but that we also need to realize brokenness in our own communities and relationships that are taking place right here on campus. I like how Dr. Wilson puts shalom in a bigger context in his article:

What does it mean, as ministers of reconciliation, to bring shalom to this world? The Hebrew term properly means “wholeness,” “well-being,” or “perfection.” Shalom includes friendship, harmony, and health. Though personal sins and societal imperfections now often thwart shalom, the prophetic vision of shalom will one day not be denied: harmonious relations within a fully redeemed, restored and perfect world. Ultimately He shall “speak peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:10) and they “will not learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). As agents of peace and reconciliation, we presently await its culmination.

-Dr. Marvin Wilson, Peace That Passes Understanding: Toward a Theology of Peacemaking, StillPoint Spring 2010, Volume 25, No. 2

Wholeness, well-being, perfection. are these words not our greatest desires for ourselves? i long to be whole and complete, to have peace between myself & others (or simply peace within myself). i want so desperately to be perfect but i fail time and time again. but... i am excited that i serve a God who is a peacemaker and cares deeply about peace -- not just peace around the world, but peace within myself and with others. he cares about my relationships, my community here at gordon and at home, and he wants peace to exist there - and all across the globe. henri nouwen has a quote that is quite relevant to this...he says in his short book In the Name of Jesus, "The knowledge of Jesus' heart is a knowledge of the heart. And when we live in the world with that knowledge, we cannot do other than bring healing, reconciliation, new life, and hope wherever we go" (41).

i have struggled to write this blog post for a week now because i don't really know how to express how i feel about these quotes/articles that i read...but i guess this will have to do...i have a lot to learn about peace but i am grateful to be surrounded by people and books who can teach me :)

initiate

i live for good conversations: coffee dates, lunch dates, walk-around-the-block-dates. anything, really. i love the one-on-one dialogue and listening & learning from others -- and having someone listening to my own story.

this summer was no exception of good conversations between many different family members and friends. i am blessed. one conversation that i want to write about happened with my uncle alan while we were celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday. i asked him a couple of questions regarding faith and different cultures and i knew that my question couldn't be answered by someone better than him, since he is probably the most well-traveled person i know.

what my uncle taught me, and something that has been continually stirring in my mind ever since is the fact that GOD is the one who has taken the initiative and is continuously pursuing me (us). there was such a wave of joy that came over me after i first started thinking about this, and i still feel joyful today.

why?

because i serve a God who is actively seeking me out, no matter how far i go, no matter how badly i mess up. i think that this was even more apparent to me as i studied the book of david with my church this summer. through david's life God showed me how he was the one who:

-made a covenant with david

-led david through many trials and tribulations

-fought for david (steve jolley's sermon on the story of david & goliath pointed to the fact that God fights our battles for us -- Deut. 1:30)

-forgave David (sinning with bathsheba was a pretty big slip unfortunately)

God was the one who did all of the above. david messed up pretty badly, but God was faithful and carried david through so many different seasons of life (running away, being king, being sinful and then turning in repentance).

as i look at that story, and think about what my uncle taught me about God's role in our lives and his sovereignty, i am overcome with peace and thankfulness because i see God fulfilling his promises, seeking after his people (who are incredibly screwed up), and walking with them every step of the way. yes, we should strive to seek God out in every part of our lives, but only because God did it first.

i'm reading deuteronomy (side note: i am definitely skipping some of the more tedious chapters) and am encouraged by God's love for his people and his deep desire for their obedience. i leave you with two verses which both demonstrate God's initiative in our lives and his desire for us to follow him wholeheartedly. how blessed i am that HE has initiated a relationship with me and has provided a book full of his promises -- fulfilled and waiting to be fulfilled.

Deuteronomy 1:29

"The Lord your God is going ahead of you.

He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt"

Deuteronomy 10:12

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?

He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul."

P.S. picture above taken on an early morning hike on camp winnipesaukee during the GCSM retreat (a wonderful time if i might add!!)

Loving & Missing

Loving...

Tavilla 202 and the constant joy and fun that is always a happenin' here

cooking my own food (some recipes more delicious than others)

running in the new england sunshine

studying politics again

working with laurie doing student ministries/mentoring stuff

wonderful conversations with incredible and godly people here at gordon

anticipating the beginning of fall colors

fenway part extravaganza!!

Missing:

these two cuties + the 'rents (and of course tanz!)

driving on the 101 in GLO (i really miss having a car)

my extended family...i had some really wonderful times with aunts, uncles, and cousins this summer (from oregon, virginia, and so. cal) and it was such a fun time of fellowship

spinning classes & mornings @ GVAC (we had so much fun with our gym membership this summer--i've never been sweatier before, but it felt great!)

working at maravilla .. i miss talking to the residents

regular conversations with my dad about the wall street journal and other newspaper articles, current events, etc. etc.

decaf coffee dates with my mama

the first post

yikes! i actually DO have a blog now...i have wanted to have one for quite some time, but came across some bumps along the road, the primary one being: what do i TITLE this thing?? and i will admit that i know MANY blogs that have much better names than mine...mine is a little cheesy/strange, but i think that the word "transient" really identifies with this time period in my life.

tran·sient   [tran-shuhnt, -zhuhnt, -zee-uhnt]
–adjective
1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.
3. staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.

yes, every period of our lives is "not lasting" but i feel that our years in college are particularly like this and create a special dependency on Christ because we have so many unknowns. i have a home to return to during vacation times, but i don't always feel like i belong there since i have spent so much time away...and when i am back at school i am often homesick for the familiarity of life in my home state.

but yet this time is also exciting because i don't know what the next day holds, where i am going to live this summer, or if i am going to grad school after graduation, or getting a job. i don't know if i belong on the east coast or the west or the mid west for that matter. i don't know a lot of things, but i do know that God wants me to be content as i sit and dream of my future, move different places, chat to random strangers on the airplane as i make that joyous ride out west/east periodically, enjoy home-cooked meals with my mom, or apartment-cooked meals with my friends.

I was blog-reading one day and found this quote from one of my favorite authors:

"And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?”

— Donald Miller (Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road)

i am in a season of goodbyes and hellos, lots of thinking and pondering, as well as lots of laughing and learning. one of the biggest parts of this learning is better understanding how to communicate my learnings to others...so i want to do some of that through writing. i often come away from classes and conversations so full of new things that i want to share with people, but the words don't come or the wrong ones do. i hope that i can write to better express what God is teaching me and how he is using so many different elements of his creation to show me more of himself.

and as i think about transience, i don't want to forget that this life on earth is not permanent. no home will ever feel like true home until i am in Heaven and nothing will ever satisfy me completely until i stand there. so while i travel, learn, grow, and dream, i hope that i will remember that i am like an israelite, waiting for the promised land, but guided patiently by a loving father.