|
Search this Blog:
Subscribe to Blog:
[ Friends ]
This blog sponsored by:
The views represented on this blog are not necessarily those of Higher Things, nor does Higher Things necessarily endorse them.
|
Theological Thoughts
|
|
|
Posted At: 4:26pm by Anna Joy
|
A couple years ago I went to a conference where I heard a great pastor tell me that God doesn't give you all the answers in life and that no matter where you go, He'll use the gifts and talents that He's given you for the good of those called according to His purpose. (I wonder who that was.......maybe a certain Borghardt we have running around here.) Those words and that approach to life has often brought me great comfort despite everything.
God's Law is good. It shows us that we need a Savior. It is a gift of God. But the Law doesn't say "Anna, you will be a surgeon" or "John, you will be a supervisor." It isn't designed for that purpose. God leaves that up to us. And while that is incredibly freeing, it's also incredibly difficult to come to terms with. What if I choose the wrong profession? What if I choose something that will make me miserable? As long as I choose something that will not hurt or harm my neighbor or cause him to stumble, then I can work wherever I please. God's given me certain talents and abilities. For me that's the ability to look at a two dimensional surface and organize it to make it efficient and beautiful. I'm good at organizing and communicating. If I can utilize that, great!
But that doesn't necessarily mean that hard decisions won't come up. Like:
Do I stay in the US and pay off my student loans after college or go straight into aid work?
What happens if I decide to settle down?
Should I volunteer from home?
What organizations should I attempt to become involved in and where will that lead me?
The list could be 20 pages long.
And that's where I rely on God's grace. Not only does it save me from my sins, but it gives me the freedom to make tough decisions with the promise that He will always be there watching out for me.
Edited on: July 05th, 2008 11:14 pm
|
|
|
|
Posted At: 6:14pm by Anna Joy
|
I recently read Does College = Losing Your Faith and being that I'm in college it really got me to thinking about college and life in general and how it has affected my faith life.
I attend Concordia University Nebraska. I'll be a junior in the fall. And after two full years of being there I honestly wonder what on earth I'm doing there and why I ever went there to begin with. Right now, it feels like I've wasted the last two years of my life away in the middle of a corn field not learning or absorbing anything from the classes that are supposed to teach me about "real world" events and how to deal with reality on a day-to-day basis.
Going to college is not easy. College is for those that have drive and have a goal, even if the only goal that they have is to just finish so they can get on with life. I'll admit that I'm one of those people. I don't know where I'll be when I'm done with school or what I'll be doing. I'll have a degree that won't guarantee me anything other than a miserable entry-level job if I choose to accept that.
I've learned a lot about art and the hands on processes behind design. I know how to use a woodshop. I know how to fix a lot of things. I've gotten a lot of pracitcal experience. But when it comes right down to it I've gotten to the point where I feel like I've been repeating the exact same thing over and over again for the last two years. I feel as though it's too late for a change, because if I changed now I would at the very least have another 3 years left to complete, if not longer, because I only have half of my gen eds completed.
The spiritual life on my campus is crap. I honestly have had a very difficult time surrounding myself with like-minded people in any sense of the word and in some ways I think that it has led me to become somewhat more accepting. In some ways it has made me very bitter.
And yet no matter how many times I go over it in my mind, it all comes down to this:
My vocation right now is to be a student in Nebraska for whatever reason God has put me there.
That's it.
It's hard sometimes to cling to the fact that God knows what He's doing. Hindsight is 20/20, but when you're walking through the forest and you don't know where you are, it's hard to put trust in something that you can't actually see. My faith isn't perfect and it's been challenged in ways I hadn't even imagined at Concordia. It's definitely shown me that simply saying the words over and over again don't make a difference and that actions really do speak louder than words, in both myself and others that I have seen.
But throughout all of college it's nice to know that when I stumble, I don't have to stagger to my feet by myself. God's there to pick me back up again, dust me off, and set me back down only to repeat the process every time I take a step. It also helps to know that because He has forgiven me, I can fully forgive others.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
|
|
|
|
Posted At: 9:21pm by Anna Joy
|
|
So it's week four... and so far things are going amazingly well. In fact, today was the best day of camp I've had so far. My kids were amazing today. Incredibly well behaved and just adorable. Although, I guess I can't claim them as totally mine. Penne and I are teaming up this week with the 7 and 8 year olds. Today we had 11. Out of those 11, 3 actually attend church. Three kids that are siblings (a set of twins and a younger bro) said that they attended church before Katrina but haven't been back since. Which, I must say, is pretty amazing in more ways than one.
Tonight we ate dinner at the Dellinger's house, and they had an amazing story to tell. They are a couple that has been married for 47 years, they're probably about 65 or 70ish, and they moved to Waveland, MS (which is where we are, btw) four years ago. I won't be able to tell their story as well as they did, but I'll give it my best shot.
Katrina was coming and they had decided that there was no way they would be able to make it out of Mississippi in time before the hurricane hit because the highway was clogged with cars and there was no other way to make it out. So, they closed up their hurricane shutters and waited for the storm to come. The storm came, and at first it wasn't a problem. The house seemed to be withstanding the winds just fine. But, all of a sudden, water from storm surge began to rise up around the foundation of their house. Pretty soon, the door had caved in from the pressure of the water built around it, and Pearl had gotten stuck outside. She grabbed the iron trellis on the front porch and held on for dear life. Dave was sitting in his chair, which had begun to float. By the end of the night, they had 6 feet of water in their house. Pearl was still clinging to the porch, where she stayed during the hurricane for 7 hours with 160 mph winds. They are both still alive and in pretty good shape.
They lived in their ruined house for 3 days because they couldn't get out of town. Their car's electrical system had shorted out during the storm. Their son drove from Mobile to come get them, then drove them back to Mobile and put them in a hotel for 4 days. They then lived with their son for 6 months while they waited to get a FEMA trailer. After that, they lived in a FEMA trailer for a year while repairs were made to their house.
And they have no complaints. All they said was "God wanted us alive for some reason."
Profound, no?
If only we could always say that when "bad things" happen to us. The 10,000 people that lost their homes in MS, not to mention the other homes that had to be stripped down and rebuilt.... God had good intentions in all of it.
"God just wanted me to experience this."
|
I am listening to Illinois
Release Date: 05 July, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
Posted At: 10:13pm by Anna Joy
|
Well, finals are over and I'm officially a sophomore. After putting in 80 hours a week on my projects for a straight four weeks, I handed in all of my projects. I'm as relieved as I am sad to see the first year go by. I love Concordia and have made amazing friends. I've also learned a ton...especially about art. After 20 hours of art with 61 to go, I can safely say that if you've ever got the time and are bored, look up some art. You'll probably learn a ton.
This summer, I'm working at a day camp in New Orleans from May 24th-July 27th. July 7th, Lynea's gettin' married (finally  ), and I'm headed to Houston. After that, I'm headed to Minneapolis, then Asheville for For You!
In the meantime, my family's moving to Mankato, MN, where my dad will start his new position at Bethany Lutheran College. Big move. It's about a 26 hour drive from here to there, if not 28. Definitely a change of pace and scenery.
Because the college is ELS, my family's leaving the LCMS and becoming ELS. Dad's resigning his position and will no longer be an ordained pastor. Because of my "adult status" (whatever that means), I have a decision to make. I don't have to leave the LCMS. But I don't have to stay, either. At this point, I'm not sure that it makes sense for me to leave the LCMS since I'll still be going to CUNE.
On the one hand, I wouldn't mind leaving. On the other, I've always been LCMS and as of right now I've no good reason to leave. Does it really matter? Is it a matter of Gospel freedom? Is it a matter of Law? While trying to think through this, I can't come up with any definite idea of what I want to do. I can't be both; I have to choose between one or the other. To be ELS means no longer affiliating with the LCMS. To be LCMS, means not affiliating with my family's church.
While I consider this decision, please consider me in your prayers. And if you have any thoughts, feel free to post them. I'd appreciate anything you have to say.
|
|
|
|
Posted At: 11:21pm by Anna Joy
|
I was reading The Screwtape Letters - one of my most favorite books - tonight and came upon something I hadn't realized before. Throughout C.S. Lewis book, Screwtape is writing his nephew who is going through "temptation bootcamp" and is giving him advice on how to further the Devil's kingdom.
While reading, I came across this passage:
So inveterate is their appetite for Heaven that our best method, at this stage, of attaching them to earth is to make them believe that earth can be turned into Heaven at some future date by politics or eugenics or 'science' or psychology, or what not.
How true is this? How often do we try to create a 'heaven on earth' by creating new political or social policies? How often do we try to extend the lives of patients through artificial means?* More often than what it should be, isn't it?
The truth is that the world is sinful, fallen, corrupt. We can't even begin to imagine what a perfect world would be like. Think about it. List all of the things that would be different if this world was "perfect" and then go back through your list. How many of those supposedly perfect things that you listed are tainted by your fallen nature? Probably quite a few.
This is why Communism, while it seems like the ideal society, will never work. We're sinful human beings. We're selfish. Living in a setting where we must share everything with everyone goes against our sinful nature. Socialist governments eventually fall into corruption. Medical treatments, while they may extend our lives, ultimately fail. Earth is not perfect. We are not perfect.
But in the midst of all of this, Christ came down from the real Heaven to earth to save us from our sin. He died so that we wouldn't spend eternity in Hell. And then, He rose again three days later. Why? Why die one of the most inhumane deaths imaginable? It's simple: God loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.
So, while there may never be Heaven on earth, we are given glimpses of what Heaven will be like through God's Word and through the Lord's Supper.
Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
*not that I don't believe in medical breakthroughs or medical treatment. I'm thinking more along the lines of keeping braindead patients artificially "alive" via machine.
Edited on: March 20th, 2007 11:24 pm
|
|
