hey all…

well, my last week or so at Covenant has been pretty crazy. Moved m y stuff into my room, left town for the weekend to an RA retreat out in the boon-docks of Alabama and came back for 4 full, full days of training. Throw in driving to Atlanta, Ga to be with a friend at  her brothers funeral and then friday rolls in with 310, or so, incoming freshmen to Covenant College. Top it off with getting up around 5am to squeeze in a morning run a few times throughout week and then injuring myself so i successfully limp across campus….Yes, its been a little crazy.

I’m excited for this next year not only because it is my last but more so because of the people i know, the lives i will see changed by the gospel–including my own– and just having a blast living life and taking great classes.

Here are some links to what i’ve been reading while being stuck in meetings for the freshmen…don’t judge me too harshly that i was catching up on some articles/blogs. the lectures i’ve heard 3 or 4 times just get to you at some point, i guess

http://rhettsmith.com/2009/07/29/leading-on-empty/

http://rhettsmith.com/2009/08/12/saying-no-so-we-can-say-yes-to-solitude-silence-and-prayer/

http://theresurgence.com/nightline-interview

http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/?p=315

hey–

wanted to apologize for the “lull” in the posts recently. lindsey and i left for Dayton, OH on saturday and arrived sunday evening with several stops to see friends along the way.

currently, i am writing a research paper for my online history class–last assignment!

tomorrow–wednesday–i’ll head down to chattanooga, tn and spend my last night before moving back into the dorms with some good friends.

its a little crazy as thursday night marks the beginning of the RA retreat but im super excited. i’ll be back soon…don’t miss me too much ;o)

-livs

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. 

(continue reading…)