Patience in the Mirror

This week is a difficult week to blog. It seems every assignment for the past month has had a large effect on our final grades. Aside from the academic stress, there are also those "other" things in life like spirituality, relationships, daily duties, respect for authority . . .the whole bit. Fortunately, I've been able to keep partial sanity.

At the beginning of the semester, we set spiritual goals. I have accomplished some of these but not all of them. Today I spoke with my mentor about not completing these particular goals I had set, and he reminded me of something very important.

When you don't accomplish a goal, focus on those things you did accomplish. Now, I'm not encouraging you to forget those goals you failed to reach. Remember them and keep after them, but--please!--do not condemn yourself for those which you did not fulfill. The consequences of self-condemnation will be worse than missing the goal!

The Lord is patient with us, more than we deserve. I encourage everyone who reads this to have patience with yourself. In this, you will grow in more meaningful ways than ever before.

He's In Everything

He's in everything

Thank you, Dustin, for the "Egyptian cotton" model of spirituality. I think this is something we have all been trying to accomplish this semester. It's the idea that God should be involved with every part of our life.

This realization should help me approach life with a larger purpose. For example, I shouldn't do my Bible college homework just to make a good grade but because doing my homework gives me a chance to grow in my knowledge of God. I should be friendly not just because it's what "Pentecostals do" but because it is what Jesus would do. I shouldn't watch unwholesome movies because it's against Gateway policy/pastoral standards but because it's against the principles of God's Word. Whether or not I realize it, my relationship with God must be carried throughout everything I do.

Because if He's in everything, then everything matters.

My Life of Egyptian Cotton

I've learned...

So life has been a whirlwind lately and I've barely been able to maintain my school life, personal life, and social life--let alone, my spiritual life. It has gotten pushed to the back of my mind (and, seemingly, out of my life) just from the mere volume of the rest of the "necessities" filling my head. I have been trying to find time--to make time for God, here and there, but, honestly, it's been a failing experience.

I've been going about it all wrong.

Everything's Spiritual

I know--I've learned, rather--that everything is spiritual. The threads of my "spiritual life" should be so interwoven into the fabric of my existence that they should be an inseperable part of who I am.

Have you ever had the humongous honor of sleeping on sheets of 2000 thread-count Egyptian cotton? I simply can't imagine a thread count that high when I fall asleep amidst 200 thread-count "Target" cotton every night. I can only dream...

But I digress.

2000 thread-count Egyptian cotton means that for every square inch of fabric there are 2000 threads of Egyptian cotton (in case you couldn't figure that out). I honestly can't comprehend that. When you look at the fabric, you can't tell when one thread ends and the other begins. Now with my 200 count (same general concept applies) I can easily see the individual threads--especially if I give it a couple years of "wear and tear."

Mylife should be 2000 thread-count sheets. The threads of my spiritual life should be so tightly woven with the other threads of my life that the line where one ends and the next begins is lost. It's kind of a new concept for me. Scary territory. Can I afford to let God be in every aspect of my life? Whoa! But can I really be "spiritual" without doing so?

I guess you can call me "Egyptian Cotton Man" wanna-be . . .

Conquering the business of life

Life Currently

It is nearing the end of the semester here at Gateway. I could describe it with one word . . .umm, "CRAZY!" At this time, we Gateway students usually have several papers and tests due, many involvements in local church and Gateway ministries, plus the upcoming holidays (just to add to our distraction). Life is very busy, and in our spiritual walks, it feels very hard to make any progress. I know that we college students aren't the only busy people. Everybody in America is busy.

How do I grow?

I have been wondering how to spiritually survive--even thrive!--in a time like this. It is just like David said in his blog, these are sunny, "dry" times. These are times when you learn just how to stand strong and even grow.

So here's the fruit of my reflections:

1. Keep your priorities straight. Always ask yourself if what you are doing is really more important than God-time, or is it just busy work that can be put off until later? Sometimes it is; sometimes it isn't. If it can be put off, then spend time with God first. However, if you have something to do that must be done right now, don't feel guilty. God knows; God understands.

2. Live life to please God not to finish a checklist. Sometimes that means finishing homework on time and spending only five minutes in prayer before bed instead of spending an hour in prayer and not doing any homework. You have to consider wisely what course of action will please God the most.

3. Even busyness is no excuse to completely forget God. We often think that since we are busy, we have a good reason to not spend any time at all with God. In your crazy schedule, YOU MUST MAKE SOME TIME (maybe not as much time as you would like to take or normally get to take) to stop and listen to the voice of God. He is the source of help for your problems. Completely ignoring God results in depresion, confusion, and frustration. We are human, and it is impossible for us to adequately deal with life's problems alone.

I am a Flower, a Cornstalk, a Sprig of Mint

Super-Spiritual
This week has been interesting. Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to sing with the Chorale at the Mantle Conference in Kansas City. It was a very spiritual weekend for me.

We prayed like, three times during the weekend, which is pretty crazy for me...during the weekend. Then I also experienced some other spiritual things in the services which made the weekend just super-spiritual. The point of this story is the fact that I'm not in that super-spiritual state now.

Metaphors Abounding
I am a flower, a cornstalk, a sprig of mint, a strawberry. No, I'm not insane, I am a metaphor. I am growing, and it takes time. While this weekend, I experienced some rain, the clouds are gone now and the sun is out.

Funny thing is that we consider the sun more important than rain in the growing process of plants. Some may say: well water and sun are equally important! That brings me to the point. I am using rain as the "spiritual" and the sun as the "dry" times. Both periods of time work together to bring growth.

"I am a Rock, I am a Fortress"

We use the cliches of "mountain-top" and "valley" experiences. I'm wondering what happened to the in-between. I do agree that mountains and valleys are part of the spiritual journey. My view is that they should be present only as part of the trip to a higher place. Tibet is a plateau region in China with an average elevation of 16,000 feet. To get to the plateau without flying, you must travel over mountains and valleys.

This is the spiritual landscape I want to be walking on. While it may be surrounded by mountains and valleys, there is a place (a spiritual "Tibet")where there is a consistent elevation. The people on that spiritual "plateau"? I would see them as the elders in our churches, the spiritually mature believers that live a continual walk with God. I think this journey contains many plateaus with the mountains and valleys.

The Point (or the "Peak" or the "Plateau" . . .)

Don't be discouraged in the valley. That's a no-brainer. Heres something not so "no-brainier"; dont be discouraged when you aren't always on the mountain. We may not and probably will not always be in a continual state of spiritual euphoria. Most druggies who do this overdose and die. Our goal is to have a steady rate of growth to a healthy and mature place.

Speaking of Speed Bumps . . .

Murphy's Law

To our dear reader/s,

Murphy's Law states that whatever can go wrong probably will. Once again, the pessimistic wisdom of those words has proven all too accurate. Gateway has been experiencing some serious Internet connectivity problems throughout the month of October which has effected our courageous bloggers ability to keep ya'll posted about their amazing spiritual progress (or even turn in the homework on time).

As with all IT-related issues, discovering the source of the problem is the biggest problem, so I'm unable to offer a date when Gateway will have uninterrupted Internet access. We may continue in this "on-again, off-again" manner for a little while.

However, we will continue to post as we are able. If a new post doesn't show up for a few days, don't be discouraged, keep checking back.

We really appreciate all of those who've taken time to stop by and read this blog. We hope that it has helped you in your walk with God.

God bless,

The Walk(ers)

P.S.

That's my little girl Shaelyn (6 months) . . .

Just so you know . . .

Like you didn't already guess . . .

OK, I admit it, she's already got me wrapped around her finger . . .and I don't even mind!

I Hit A Speed Bump

Life Without "Bubbles"
Let's be honest; I go to a Bible College and that means that I live in a very, very small bubble. On most days, I have no idea what the top headlines on CNN.com are and usually I don't really care to know. Perhaps that sounds pathetic.

For me, it is so easy to go charging through my day, going about my usual routine, completely unaware of anything thats going on outside my 'bubble'. Contrast that with the life of Jesus and what you'll notice is that He always very aware of His surroundings; He was never off in His own little bubble (Except when He fasting for 40 days in the desert and praying so hard in a garden that He was sweating blood . . .neither of which we'll ever actually do).

He felt the power that left His body when the women with the issue of blood touched Him. He heard the cry of blind Bartimaeus when everyone else was telling Bart to shutup. He knew that Zacchaeus was hiding in a tree. He was just plain aware of what was going on around Him. No bubble.


Look Around
So then, a question must be asked; how 'aware' am I of the things that are going on around me as I progress through my day? If I had to rate my "world-awareness" on a scale from 1-10 it would probably be somewhere around a 1.5 . . .maybe . . .on a good day.

I run to my classes because I'm always late. I eat my food as fast as possible and leave the cafeteria even faster. I drive to work, on average, at 80 mph; I drive home from work at 85. Basically, I live life in that American "bubble" called the fast lane, completely unaware of world issues like poverty and the increasing violence that pollutes the earth I live on.

Slowing Down
Contemplating my stupidity feels equivalent to running over a speed bump at 70 mph, but maybe it's a good thing. Because, while I'm sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck to come, I realize that there's a world outside my bubble. There is a sun in the sky, trees in the forest, people who could use some encouragement, starving children who could use some food . . . There's so much more to the world than just me.

So if your life has just hit a speed bump, consider it an opportunity to slow down and become aware of the world outside your bubble...it's a very humbling feeling, really it is.