Be strong and courageous?

2001fbcrseniorssmall When I was a senior in high school, my senior class at church selected Joshua 1:9 as our theme verse for the year.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

We recited this verse each Sunday morning. It was a fitting verse for such a transitional time in our lives. However, I have realized that God’s message to Joshua about courage is an important one for most stages in life. In college, I needed to trust in God’s presence and guidance as I made decisions regarding my major and other future decisions including getting married. Over the last 7 years, I have needed to be courageous and rely on God’s guidance as Aaron and I started Camp Machaceh. Courage also came into play as Aaron and I transitioned to seminary and life in Waco. I find much peace in God’s promise to always be with Joshua wherever he went.

Over the last few weeks, my mother in law was diagnosed with primary peritoneal cancer and underwent surgery to remove the tumors. She is home from the hospital and well on the road to recovering from surgery, but she faces a long road of chemo ahead of her. My prayer for her and our family on this journey is Joshua 1:9. Regardless of the outcome or the difficulty of the road, I pray that we will always remember and take courage in God’s presence with us.

a left-handed man

The President Signing Left-Handed

I am part of a minority group. This may seem like an odd statement considering I am a white, middle class American, but I am a minority all the same. You see, I am left-handed in a world created for right handed people. Ever noticed how the pen attached to the credit card machine is geared toward right handed people? Or how most desks in college classrooms are for right-handers? So it is no wonder I have always enjoyed the story of Ehud in Judges 3. Now don’t get me wrong, it is quite a disturbing story. Ehud showed up to present tribute to King Eglon, but when the king was left alone with him, Ehud drew his sword and “thrust it into Eglon’s belly.” The Bible includes all the gory detail about the entire sword entering his belly and the fat closing over it. Overall, a rather disgusting story. What I like about this story, though, is in verse 15- “But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man” (emphasis added). Ehud was able to carry out his task of killing King Eglon because he was left-handed. The guards would not have thought to check Ehud’s right thigh for a weapon because everyone was right-handed and would have strapped their swords to their left thighs. Often being left-handed was looked down on and in some cases seen as evil. But here we see God using Ehud to rescue his people, and the writer pointed out that he was left-handed. I guess being left-handed has its perks after all.

Dependency

praying-with-open-hands

Dependency. The word conjures up a range of thoughts and emotions. Dependency on God is always something I was taught to do by my parents and something I have strived for throughout my life. However, my understanding of dependency has taken on a new meaning over the last six or seven years.

Six and half years ago Aaron and I were living in Colorado Springs, Colorado preparing to enter camp ministry. We had gotten married a few months before moving there, and we were looking for a job in the Christian camping world. We were in the process of interviewing for a job at a camp in Durango, CO, when God did the unthinkable. He sent us back to Texas to start Camp Machaceh and work with underprivileged youth in our home state. This was a shock to our mountain loving selves, but we knew we had no choice. To stay in Colorado would be disobedient. Within a few months we found ourselves back in the metroplex figuring out what it meant to start a nonprofit organization. Through my experience with Camp, I am constantly challenged to be dependent on God whether for donations, volunteers, or even weather. We have seen God do amazing things through the ministry, a testament to His power and provision. Through each stage of this ministry, I learn something new about dependency. Thus, I cannot help but wonder what it must have been like for the Israelites during their desert years.

The Israelites were dependent on God for everything, much to their chagrin at times. They relied on God for food and water. They relied on God’s protection from their enemies, and they even relied on His guidance as to when to travel and where to camp. In Numbers 9, we learn that on the day the tabernacle was set up, the LORD descended on it in the form of a cloud. This cloud remained there, appearing as fire by night and cloud by day. However, when the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle, the Israelites knew it was time to move to a new location, and they would set out travelling until the cloud settled in a new location. Verse 23 of Numbers 9 particularly struck me:

“At the command of the LORD they would camp, and at the command of the LORD they would set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.”

The Israelites had nothing apart from the LORD. If God had not been with them, guiding them, providing for them, they would have been left with nothing and would have most likely perished. This made me rethink dependency a bit. While I still think I have been dependent on God for many things in my life and for most all things regarding Camp Machaceh, I wonder, can I truly understand dependency unless I have relied on God for everything down to food, water, shelter, and clothing? Or is simply realizing that without the generosity of others I would be in a much different place a recognition of dependency?

Two Hebrew Midwives: A Lesson in Faith

lotr-covers I love a well-crafted story. Some of my favorites include Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and Jane Austen’s Persuasion to name a few. What makes these stories great? For me it’s the character and plot development. There are no unnecessary characters or events. All characters and events have a role to play in the grand narrative. This is something I love about the Bible as well.

In the first chapter of Exodus, we learn of the Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt. But “the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread” (v. 12) making the Egyptians increasingly dread and hate the Israelites. This eventually led to Pharaoh mandating the midwives to kill all Hebrew boys at birth. It is at this point that we meet Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives.

Our record of their story is short and without flourish; however, they play an important role in Exodus. We are told in 1:17 that the midwives feared God and ignored Pharaoh’s command allowing the Hebrew boys to live. They stood firm to Pharaoh’s face a few verses later, and as a result God protected them and blessed them with families. Their actions allowed the Israelites to continue to multiply and strengthen, setting the stage for Moses’ birth and the actions of his mother and sister in chapter two.

I am also struck and challenged by the faith of these two women. Shiphrah and Puah courageously ignored Pharaoh’s commands. They feared God more than humans. If faced with a similar dilemma, would my faith be unwavering? God rewarded them for their faith, but sometimes the outcome is much different. We follow God rather than humans, and we end up in suffering. This is part of the journey and part of life. But through suffering, we learn something about ourselves, our faith, and our God. All this to say, Shiphrah and Puah did not ignore Pharaoh because they hoped God would reward them. Rather, they chose to do the right thing without knowing what would happen to them. And that is what I would call faith that can move mountains.

What a difference a year makes…

This time last year my life was turned upside down. We had just moved to Waco and were anxiously awaiting the first day of seminary. We had no job and had no idea what to expect. Then school started. It took an entire semester for me to get used to being in school again, and we still didn’t have jobs. In fact, we went through the whole year with nothing more than part-time-not-coming-close-to-paying-the-bills-jobs. This was NOT part of our plan for seminary. Aaron was supposed to find a job as a youth minister, and I was supposed to find a campus job. But instead, I had no job, and Aaron tutored athletes and took care of horses for the Baylor Equestrian team. Eventually, we gave up on finding a church job and decided we would just push through and try to finish seminary as quickly as possible so we could focus on Camp Machaceh again and move back to our family and friends in Dallas.

Fast forward to July. Aaron and I had the privilege of going to Sonlight Camp in Pagosa Springs, CO this year. Aaron was the speaker at a week of camp for middle schoolers. We had a blast! We saw God move in amazing ways, and He reminded us how much we love hanging out with teenagers. The desire to work with youth more than just in the summer was set ablaze again. But we had little time to think about it because we had one week to put the finishing touches on Camp Machaceh and head to camp. The week was absolutely insane! But between all the planning and pakcing, Aaron took the time to apply for 3 youth ministry positions in the Waco area. We heard back from all 3 the next day. Two days before we left for camp, we had an interview with one church. With everything that was going on, we barely had time to think about it!

A few days later while we were at camp, they called Aaron to set up another interview for the following Sunday. We went back for that interview, and by the next afternoon, we had received an email informing Aaron that they wanted him to be their youth minister! In case you are keeping track, that was only 11 days after the initial interview!

Two Sundays ago Bosqueville Baptist Church voted to hire Aaron as their youth minister. God is so faithful. He heard our cries. He knew the desire of our hearts to work with youth on a day to day basis. And He has blessed us immensely! We are so looking forward to working with the youth at BBC! God has brought us full circle, and the best part is that it was completely on His time table. Next time, I will try to be more patient! :o)

Enjoy these pics of our new church home! More to come…

aaron-with-bosqueville-sign

bosqueville-baptist

What I learned in my first semester of seminary

It’s been a while. A long while since my first post. And much has happened since then. Mainly, Aaron and I have successfully completed our first semester of seminary. I thought it would be fun to document all that I learned in this first semester now that I actually have time to think again. So here it is: the top 10 things I learned in my first semester of seminary.

10. It is possible to read and write every day of the week and still not finish all of my homework.

9. Whether MLA or SBL format, footnotes and bibliographies are a pain in the you know what.

8. I’m not a huge fan of research papers. I feel like I’m just regurgitating information other people have already written down. My profs have books, can’t they read for themselves?

7. It is possible for me to write a paper in as little as an hour and a half.

6. Church history is fascinating, especially the stories of the martyrs during the times of persecution by the Romans. It’s truly by the hand of God that we have any semblance of the Church today.

5. Theology is frustrating but necessary.

4. It’s ok not to get 100s on everything, especially when it’s a theology class. At least that’s what Aaron keeps telling me. I haven’t decided if I believe him yet. 🙂

3. I can actually make it an entire month without washing clothes as long as I wash one load of underwear.

2. Everyone asks the question, “Why am I going to seminary?” at least once a week or so and even more often during times of stress like the night before a 15-page research paper is due. This is just a natural part of going to seminary.

1. I love Greek! There I said it. I actually enjoy the challenge of learning a new alphabet and grammar. It’s like a puzzle. Aaron says this makes me a nerd, but I don’t care. (He also says aforementioned desire for perfection is a nerd symptom as well.)

There you have it. The top 10 things I have learned this semester. Despite the numerous ups and downs of my first semester of seminary, at the end of the day, I have really enjoyed being back in the classroom as a student, and I have been challenged in countless ways spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Now that finals are in the past, I am actually getting excited about next semester. Maybe I am a nerd at heart. 🙂