Beauty at DBU

 

I took this picture at sunset earlier this month at DBU. I think that it is really beautiful! I love how God creates such beautiful sunrises and sunsets for us to enjoy. No matter where you are in the world, you can see them and enjoy them.

This is from a storm at DBU. I really like the way the clouds sort of roll together. They brought a huge rainstorm!

Love

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is such a huge topic, but I have wanted to do a post on it for a couple of days now. It seems like love has been in the air lately. My friends Brad and Rachel just got engaged on Monday, and it is so wonderful to see their love for each other. Have you ever seen a couple who you can just tell that they are going to make it? They are one of those. When they are together, you see how happy they are and it makes you happy. :) They have such a good relationship with each other, but it is clear that they both love God with all their hearts. That is really the key to their relationship.

Another example of love is brought up by Tia from one of my favorite blogs. She talks about how in a good relationship, it is the little things that mean so much. I have to agree that heartfelt gestures that are really nothing are really everything. Tia is married to a man who knows this, and as she says, "Little things. Big difference." Speaking of the little things, Mark got me roses for no reason at all this week. They are beautiful and remind me how lucky I am to have someone that loves me so much.

Love is something that is so hard to define. Even in 1 Corinthians, Paul doesn't tell us what love is, but tells us what it does. I think that by taking a closer look at what love does, we can discover what it is. Love is patient and kind...being patient has never been one of my strong suits, especially when it comes to other people. I tend to think that my way is the best way, and have little patience for people who don't want to do things the best way. Clearly this is a problem that can only be solved by love. I don't struggle too much with kindness. I try to be kind as often as possible, but sometimes I'm not. Usually, these times are surrounded with sarcasm and blatant, tactless honesty. I love being truthful, but my delivery needs work sometimes. And as for sarcasm, it is part of my sense of humor. I try hard not to use it in a mean way. All in all though, I usually have good intentions, and it really pains me when I do something to disguise that fact.

Love isn't envious, boastful or prideful. Come on, we are all a little of these things every now and then. I'm pretty sure that everyone has been envious of someone, and I know that boasts and pride are a part of life that we all deal with. No exceptions here.

It is not rude, self-seeking or easily angered. This area is one that I struggle with as well. Sometimes I get pretty angry with Mark, and this verse really helps me to put things into perspective. I love him, I think to myself, so I should not be so easily angered by him. When I think about this, I usually calm down fairly quickly. The part where love keeps no record of wrongs is not helpful in an argument. Basically, it gives you no past you can use in a battle when all you need are a few good examples to prove your point. Sometimes I bring things up just for this purpose, but I try had to keep from doing this. After all, it isn't loving.

Love rejoices in the truth. A pretty clear statement, I think. If you suspect that there is something wrong between you and your loved one, ask. Mark is really great about this. If he thinks there is something wrong between us, he finds out what it is. Sure this makes me being angry about little useless things and keeping to myself so that he won't think I'm crazy pretty difficult, but several issues have been resolved thanks to his application of this verse.

Love protects, hopes, trusts and perseveres. This part of the verse is so important. In a relationship, all these things are key. You need to be there to protect one another, you can't let go of hope and trust, or your relationship will be full of secrets. And perseverance is so important. When things are tough, don't just give up. Keep fighting through.

The last part of this section basically says that love, to quote Brad Paisley, "is never-ending." Even though all of man's achievements will fade away, love is perfect and will never do so. Why is this? Because God so loved the world. God is the driving force behind true love. Without him, there would be no love. Sure, there would be plenty of lust, plenty of relationships where people thought they were in love, but there would be no perfect love.

So what is love? Well, my best guess is that love is doing what you don't always feel like doing because it is the right thing to do. Love is putting yourself second so that you can put someone else first. Love is, as the saying goes, a commitment, not a feeling. We love others because they are important to us. We value them and treasure them above everything else that we have. In this same way God loves us. How cool is that?

Honestly

Warning: This post will be an honest one, and may offend some people. If you would rather not feel offended because you can't handle it, feel free to tune in next time.

Okay, I've had it. I am sick and tired of all the Facebook statuses that now say something to the effect of "Obama is not my president," and "I hate Obama, he is a Socialist who will ruin America," and "Obama is the Antichrist."

As a student at DBU, it doesn't surprise me that people have, in the past week, begun praying intensely for God's will to be done with regard to the election and the direction in which our country is headed. I not only support this, I encourage it wholeheartedly. We should pray for our leaders and our nation every single day.

However, I vehemently disagree with those who have proudly proclaimed to be praying for the will of God in this election and who are now complaining at its outcome. To me, this is evidence of a very serious lack of faith in God's ability to correctly decide just who it is he would have lead us for the next four years.

How can you honestly claim to have desired God's will when, as you see the results of the election, you assume that his will hasn't been done? 1 John 5:14-15 states that "this is the confidence we have in approaching God:that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him." That is pretty clear to me. What Christian can honestly say that after all of the honest and fervent praying for God's will to be done through this election, God's will hasn't been done. He has heard us, and "we have what we have asked of him."

Therefore, let us continue to ask for God's will and guidance in the affairs of our nation. Let us pray for the man who was elected president tonight in accordance with our requests for God's will to be done in this election. Let us be a people of true faith who do not balk when we discover that God's will and our will are not always perfectly aligned.

All

When I think back on all of the amazing memories I have of my trip to Seoul, it is so hard to hammer out a list of favorites. I met so many truly amazing people, people that I want to know for the rest of my life. I saw so many things that made me say "whoa!" and take out my camera as quickly as possible. I experienced life in a whole new way that week, and I am so glad that I did. Teaching in the schools was incredible, as previously stated, and I want to do that again so badly. But really, while the competition is stiff for what moments are my favorite memories, there is absolutely no contest as far as my very favorite moment is concerned.

To properly set the moment up, however, I'll need to give you a little background. The night before we left for Seoul, October 2, Mark and I went to a Jars of Clay/Switchfoot/Third Day concert. After we got back home that night, I opened up my Bible to Isaiah like I had been doing for the 51 nights previously. I asked God to show me something that I could cling to on this trip, which I anticipated would be great, but I was still afraid of. He did not let me down. I got to verse 7 of the chapter I was reading, 52, where God says "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." I was so excited to read this verse because it is God's way of saying that he is God of us all.

Fast forward now to Friday, October 10. I am standing in the 1988 Olympic gymnastics stadium in Seoul, attending the Passion World Tour. I am surrounded by thousands of Koreans singing "How Great is Our God" with Chris Tomlin in Korean. Then it hit me. God is God of us all. What had previously been a powerful verse that I understood just became a powerful verse that I was living. How incredible. I was in that state where I just stood back and took it all in. The best part of it all is that the feeling of how we all are God's will never get less intense for me. After that moment, I truly understand that all nations are equally God's. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from; God unites us all.

There were so many amazing things that happened at Passion, so many times of prayer where the volume of prayers going up to God was nearly deafening, times when Koreans prayed for the people of Tokyo, that I just can't get over. I will never be the same after this trip. I challenge you to find something that will leave you changed forever. Trust me. It's worth it.

Seoul Power!

So in a week and a couple of days, I will be in South Korea. :) I cannot really express how excited I am to be able so say that. There is just an awesome feeling of anticipation that just makes me happy every time I realize that it is almost time.

I can't wait to just experience what it is like to be able to be surrounded with another culture, and to have the chance to be inspired by the awesome Christians in Korea and to witness to those people that we meet who need Jesus. I am looking forward to being able to teach children English, to love them and play games with them.

I can't wait to help out at the Passion conference, making friends with South Korean college students who are totally sold out for God. I know that God is going to do so much in out time in Korea and I can't wait to experience it!

Looking Ahead

On my wall right above my desk, a beautiful map of China is prominently displayed. I love China. The Chinese people that I have met are wonderful (many of my good friends are Chinese), the literature I read from China is awesome, and the books and articles that I have read about China and the TV shows that I have watched are eye opening. I haven't been to China yet, but someday I will go...and I am so excited for that time, believe me! The point of the above declarations is to let you know that God has placed such a love for China on my heart.

I don't feel called to be a full time missionary in China, although I used to want to teach English there. I do feel called, however, to witness to the Chinese people here in America. I know that God wants me to reach them in a way that sounds totally crazy to many people, but sounds absolutely perfect to me. I want to start an outreach center for Chinese immigrants (I love immigrants, too) somewhere with a large population of said people. I want to help them become citizens, learn English, develop skills that they couldn't back home, and, most importantly, learn about God's love for them.

To do this, I will need to fully rely on God. I will be learning Mandarin eventually, taking classes that help me learn how to start something like this, getting certified to teach ESL, getting my masters in something that will help me to do this, and much, much more. There is no way I can do any of those things without God's help! Just looking at the list terrifies me. How can I do all of these things?

Without God, this dream of mine would be as impractical as trying to dig my way to China. With him, though, I can rest assured that it will happen.