i’ve been working–pretty diligently, might i add– on my senior thesis, this past weekend. trying to finish up some of the research before i go back and get more. the never ending cycle.

wanted to share some insights/thoughts on what i am reading through, currently. for the time being, i am working through Skye Jethani’s “The Divine Commodity.” I recommend it as it portrays where our culture is and how it does, and doesn’t, speak to the claims that Christ has called of those who say they “follow” Him.

enjoy!

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writing: feared. pain. hard. long. tedious.  scary. academic. astute. exhausting. not-good-enough. not-smart-enough. rough.

one of the very first things we, as senior sociology students, did in our SIP class–taught by Dr. Vos–was fill out a form that asked us our biggest fears about writing, how nervous we are, and why we don’t really believe that we can write a good SIP.

to be honest, it does frighten me..a little. okay, maybe it frightens me a lot.

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And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” Hosea 3:1-3

Even though this chapter is 5 verses long, it is packed with rich and profound reflections that point so clearly back to Christ. In short, it speaks of the reality of Jesus’ death on the cross and the implications that it has for all of us, especially believers.

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^“For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink. Therefore I will hedge up her I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her  lovers  but not overtake them, and she shall seek them  but shall not find them. Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.’

And I [the Lord] will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.  I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.”  Hosea 2:5-7, 19-20

It’s crazy to think that Hosea knew what would become of his wife long before it ever happened. The Lord’s revelation is never easy and I can’t imagine how hard it would be to not only walk through it but more than that– to love her despite everything. 

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“I failed.”

That little sentence use to be so hard for me to admit. You see, I operated out of a “failing is worse than death” system. Failing was always out of the question. I would create such high standards for myself, that were impossible to achieve, and when I would fail or not measure up, well…I was pissed. I couldn’t be seen as anything less than perfect. At least, thats what I thought… (continue reading…)

Some of you may know that I am going to be a Resident Assistant (R.A.) this next year at Covenant. I can’t wait and am looking forward to Staff Training week here in about 2 weeks but there have been a lot of things on my mind about my hall. Namely that I want them to know me. I want to be honest with them and I don’t want the girls to place me on this pedestal of whatever as it is easy to do with people who are in positions of ‘authority’ or whatever over you. I figured I would start a little something called ‘growth emails.’ I sent the first 1 on July 9 and thought I would post it for ya’ll to check it out.

More on New York and life in Dallas coming soon…i promise (continue reading…)

As a youth ministry staff we are reading through Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell. We had to read the introduction and first chapter and write a 1 page response by today, Tuesday. In order to prepare and make sure I actually got it done, I went to a local coffee shop off of Cedar Springs–Buli.  I really love their chai and carmel latte’s and the atmosphere is so chill. To help you better understand why I am laughing right now even as I write this…picture this image… (continue reading…)

I often forget about heaven. I so often forget that I am an eternal being. I forget my identity. I forget, at times, who is it that I am truly living for. I forget about heaven. (continue reading…)

“As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their hearts grew proud; therefore, they forgot me.” -Hosea 13:6

This past year has proven how terrible I am at keeping up with my friends who arn’t with me at Covenant. I forget to write, I forget to call, I forget. Largely, due to the fact that I get caught up in the craziness of school, friendships, and life in Lookout Mountain that everything else takes a back seat. Not only do I neglect dear friends from Dallas but I so often neglect to spend time with Jesus…
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here is a quote from a book I will be studying over the next month or so, Future Grace by John Piper. I’ll be posting in the coming weeks on what I’m learning and also posting my notes. Until then…

“The effort to repay God, in the ordinary way we pay creditors, would nullify grace and turn it into a business transaction. If we see acts of obedience as installment payments, we make grace into a mortgage…Let us not say that grace creates debt; let us say that grace pays debt (p. 44). ”

“Past grace is glorified by intense and joyful gratitude. Future grace is glorified by intense and joyful confidence. This faith is what frees us and empowers us for venturesome obedience in the cause of Christ (p. 47).”