College Swag.

 Peachberry Jasmine Sutra from Teavana. A borrowed tea ball. Hot pink hot tea.  Bitter when left in too long. Fruity if you are observant of steeping time. My other favorite tea and guilty pleasure for Wednesday hall prayers is Blackberry Sage Black Tea from Republic of Tea. (hint hint, I really love Blackberries!) Nothing cure wind like THIS except for hot tea. mmmm.

Fort in the commons = VERY conducive to studying.
Hannah and I couldn't find a rope to make a tent between two trees in the crater, so we decided to make a fort and occupy the commons. We watched the Phineas and Ferb episode about Aglets. <3

MP Reflections: Obadiah

Obadiah 1: 3-4 --
³ The pride of your heart has deceived you,
   you who live in the clefts of the rocks
   and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
   ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
⁴ Though you soar like the eagle
   and make your nest among the stars,
   from there I will bring you down,”
            declares the LORD. 

This is what the Lord wanted me to read tonight. From the heights of my pride, the Lord draws me down. And oh how grateful I am that He does, for I am like Icarus and I fly too close to the sun to be safe. I try with my humanity to be God and I am not. He is that He is. God says, "I am that I am." Blessed assurance!

Obadiah 1:15
  ¹⁵ “The day of the LORD is near
   for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
   your deeds will return upon your own head. 

 This reminds me of my gratefulness for Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice and gift. The day of the Lord is near!!! And because Jesus died on the cross and bled to cover my sins and iniquities I reap the goodness of the Lord through the Spirit. Now all of my evil deeds are abolished, and my good works are not tallied or comparable to others. The ground is level and Jesus is the rock on which I stand, placed here by the GRACE of the father. 

MP Reflections: Amos

It's been hard for me to get into the Word lately, this I confess.
Tonight I read Amos, struggling through it.
Amos 5:18-27 speaks of God's despising of idol worship and religions of man. I realized that this is where Jon Foreman's song Instead of a Show comes from. God sees through our worship of religion. It's hypocrisy and pretense. I am guilty of standing in church many Sunday's in the past caring more about what people thought of my worship than worshiping God purely. "You shine up your shoes for services, there's blood on your hands.....quit playing religion games."
Instead of this show God is calling for a "flood of justice, an endless procession of righteous living."
In Amos 5:23-24 God says,
²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
   I will not listen to the music of your harps.
²⁴ But let justice roll on like a river,
   righteousness like a never-failing stream!
In Amos 8 (v.11-12) the prophet speaks of famine from God's word. Men will seek it tirelessly and not find it. This is scary. Scary because the word of God is more sustaining and life giving than food and water. I fear that this day is part of that time. Israel seeks God's word and finds it often distorted, scattered, and tortured by the world. We thirst for it. God, I beg you, allow us to seek your word daily and bring it to the places in which it is oppressed!

Breaking Wedding Norms

For Cultural Anthropology this semester we were instructed to break a social norm and observe reactions. Elisabeth had the ingenious idea to hold a wedding reception at KFC (because weddings are typically held in nicer venues). We bought a cake at Walmart, got all dressed up (we looked so legit), drove to the gas station for pictures (to await the dinner rush at KFC) and then took over the dining room of the KFC on Broad Street. We definitely had everyone convinced. I played the bride and married Rob (from Brethren). While the whole experience was super fun, it made me realize that I am not ready to get married any time soon. The KFC employees even asked us for a picture after we got back from our honeymoon (Edinburgh, Scotland). One kept singing How Sweet It is to be Loved By You. The couples that didn't scowl at us began talking about their weddings and how they had met. It was a pleasant experience. And as Elisabeth had anticipated, we showed our audience that Christians can have a little fun too. Our presentation in class is next week and I can't wait to see how our classmates react to this hilarity. To think that my first acting role was my wedding day, hahaha. Enjoy these pictures:

Passages Bible Exhibit

On Day of Prayer this semester I traveled with 20 other students to Atlanta to view, reflect on, and simply enjoy the Passages exhibit. Passages is an interactive Bible exhibit that shows off the largest manuscript collection in private hands (owned by the Green family, CEOs of Hobby Lobby and strong believers). The exhibit is currently one that travels and will soon be moving to be shown in the Vatican to celebrate Easter. The long term goal is to build a Bible museum on the National Mall in D.C. I fell in love with this exhibit. We had dinner at a sandwich shop and then returned to hear a lecture. Dr. Emmanuel Tov from Jordan spoke about the Dead Sea Scrolls and explained some of the more fascinating and technical aspects of the history of Biblical texts.
To have over 30,000 manuscripts in the hands of believers, and to have them in the hands of interested scholars at that is amazing!

At the end of the lecture we stopped to talk to Dr. Scott Carroll, the director of the Green Collection and he gave us all his card. I got to hold the oldest copy of Psalm 23. Whoa. He even gave us some inside information about the oldest fragment of Mark that was just discovered. 70AD! I can't believe how blessed I was by this trip. I got to see Hannah's prayer from 1Sam2:1-10 in Hebrew on papyrus. I sat and read it in English and in public. The enduring word of God is powerful! The struggle that it took to preserve this link to the divine ruler is astounding. I was blown away by the age, the bravery, the guts it took.
If you get a chance to see this exhibit, it'd be well worth your time and little bit of money. Kid friendly too!
Here's their website: http://explorepassages.com/

I never realized how unprepared to live with 20 other women I was. I really dislike girls. And their habits. I hate living with so much estrogen in the air.

edit: Mostly I'm just more misunderstanding of cultural differences and backgrounds than I thought. I seek to appreciate everyone, and then am disappointed especially with myself when someone does something that leaves me utterly disturbed and scratching my head in confusion. I'm guilty of focusing on things of a trivial nature for far too long. 

Every day is a constant struggle between longing for Christ and longing for the world. We sin because everyday we forget the Gospel. Jesus draw me close. Give me patience.

 With one heart and mind bow down in worship
And if there is disunity with a friend go and be united
(Ek chit tan man sé kar tu naman
Ek mit anban sé kar to Milan)

(Pray without ceasing.)

In different languages.

In hymns and songs and psalms.

By fasting.

With eyes closed, with eyes opened.

Meditate.

Prayer is a discipline of awareness.

Fasting can be done in Thanksgiving.

Sunset Along the Bluff

It's different every evening, yet familiar after one look. I love the restfulness that comes from a long hike, the dryness of salty sweat on my forehead, stretching my skin smooth. I love that my TOMS have become weathered and with holes, caked in mud. The recent rains have made Jackson Spring and the other tributary creeklings run strong and swift. I giggle to myself as I jump over them, illiterating babbling brook Bilbo Baggins bashing brilliantly in my head. The trails leave me less winded these days. And I can see the sunset painted new each night.

Psalm 32

In Bible study with the wonderful Rachel McAlvey we have been going through Kathleen Nielson's reflections on the Psalms. Tonight's is Psalm 32. After hiking the switchback down from Jackson Graveyard, Katie read it aloud for us on the boulder right before the sun set. If you have a chance go and read the whole thing (here's a link.) David reminds me that holding in my need for forgiveness will hurt me more than confession to God who forgives my sin and covers my iniquities. I rest in the knowledge that God is my hiding place.

 ⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
   offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
   they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
                         Selah 

I'm reminded of Sara Grove's song "Hiding Place" Take a listen.