Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Porridge
I made poridge yesterday from memory! And it turned out pretty decently!! Today, I will attempt to make pancakes (the recepe that Micheal and Amber made on the last day of school) and Hokey Pokey. It should be fun!
Monday, December 21, 2009
I made it home!
After 24 hours in the air, I am finally home! I watched way too many movies, slept a bit, and had some good conversations with the people next to me. I got a little miracle in Sydney: the flight was full and it was looking as if I would be spending the night in Australia but at the last minute, I got on the flight. Not only that, but there was an empty seat beside Cara so for the longest portion of the flight, we got to sit together!
I got back in time for the big Christmas meal with my dad`s side of the family and have been enjoying spending time with my siblings.
I got back in time for the big Christmas meal with my dad`s side of the family and have been enjoying spending time with my siblings.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Week 13
Last week of school before Christmas break!!!
The week started off really good with quiet day on Monday. Basically, we were all dropped off at the Waihi gorge with only our Bibles, pens, journals, and lunches (and a warm blanket) and we were told to spread out so that we couldn’t see any of the other students and then to spend the day with Jesus. I was slightly disappointed when I came home because I was expecting much more. The way Dale had talked it up it sounded as if every year, students came back with huge revelations, but I didn’t have any. Upon reflection and looking back over my notes, however, I did find that I had learned quite a bit. Most of the day was spent just being reminded of what I have been learning all year at the Crossing. I read through the first six chapters of Romans and found there the entire truth of victorious Christian living. It was good to get it from the scriptures rather than from various teachers. I think that discovering it for myself really helped my understanding.
I also read through a portion of Judges and came across a portion I had never read before. It spoke about when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River (after the forty years of wandering). God told the priests carrying the arc of the covenant to step into the river. The minute their feet touched the water, the flow was stopped and the water was held back further down the river and so the Israelites were able to cross on dry land. This made me realize that even when it seems like I am walking into an explosive situation, God is between me and the water. Although the Israelites were ‘lucky’ because they could see the symbol of the presence of God between them and the water, Jesus does say in John 21:29 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I can have complete assurance that if God calls me into a situation, He will see me through!
On Tuesday night, we watched the Nativity Story for family night. It was a really good presentation of the events! I find that I understand Christmas so much better now that I have spent a semester at The Crossing. One thing that struck me was when the wise men placed their gifts by the manger saying “for the King of kings,” and “for the High Priest of High Priests.” All three wise men were very ornately dressed and they had five camels well loaded with stuff. It made me realize the inadequacy of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Really the only thing I can bring before such a King is my life, anything less seems trivial to me. Of course, life isn’t an easy thing to give up, but that’s the best part! With His life in me, Christ is the power by which I can give Christ everything. As weird as it sounds, Christ has given me everything so that I can give Him everything.
Since we had no DVD lectures this week, the classes that these lectures would usually take up were used to pack and clean. The house has been transformed as we put stuff away and give it one last thorough cleaning before the break. Since the guys will be changing rooms after the break, they had to empty everything out of their rooms and put it all in storage. I am really thankful that all the girls are in one room because it means that we can leave stuff in drawers and closets, we just needed to get everything put away so that nothing was visible.
On Thursday night, we had a talent show and a white elephant gift exchange. I was really surprised by some of the items in the talent show! Dale demonstrated some of his amazing guitar skills; Joel and Jonas danced to ‘Girls just want to have fun’ (they were dressed in dresses they borrowed from Kelsey and Amber so it was kind of creepy...); Ben and Robert each read a poem they had written; Ben, Robert, and Bryan played two songs (one of which was written by Ben. Bryan used a plastic bucket as a drum and played amazingly!); Amber, Kelsey, and Sheryl read a poem about life at the crossing (packed with awesome memories!); and Colin and Joseph sang a song.
There was also a Te Mapua ‘Oscar Awards Ceremony’ I could have attended on Thursday night, but arranging transportation would have been too difficult L. Te Mapua will be hosting another camp over New Years so that the at risk children will be out of their homes and in a safe and loving environment when they are most vulnerable, so you can be praying for these children as they hear the message of the gospel and are cared for in a way that some of them will never experience in their own homes.
On Friday morning, Amber and Michael made pancakes for everyone for brekkie (that’s what the Kiwi’s call breakfast). I helped flip. And then everyone cleaned and emptied rooms and as I write, students are moving suitcases downstairs and a few students have already left. Cara’s and my bus leaves at 3:20 this afternoon for Christchurch. I will be staying at the Sudima hotel for the night and then heading for the airport at 4:30am tomorrow morning to catch our flight to Sydney (which leaves at 7:00am). I am so excited to come home!
The week started off really good with quiet day on Monday. Basically, we were all dropped off at the Waihi gorge with only our Bibles, pens, journals, and lunches (and a warm blanket) and we were told to spread out so that we couldn’t see any of the other students and then to spend the day with Jesus. I was slightly disappointed when I came home because I was expecting much more. The way Dale had talked it up it sounded as if every year, students came back with huge revelations, but I didn’t have any. Upon reflection and looking back over my notes, however, I did find that I had learned quite a bit. Most of the day was spent just being reminded of what I have been learning all year at the Crossing. I read through the first six chapters of Romans and found there the entire truth of victorious Christian living. It was good to get it from the scriptures rather than from various teachers. I think that discovering it for myself really helped my understanding.
I also read through a portion of Judges and came across a portion I had never read before. It spoke about when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River (after the forty years of wandering). God told the priests carrying the arc of the covenant to step into the river. The minute their feet touched the water, the flow was stopped and the water was held back further down the river and so the Israelites were able to cross on dry land. This made me realize that even when it seems like I am walking into an explosive situation, God is between me and the water. Although the Israelites were ‘lucky’ because they could see the symbol of the presence of God between them and the water, Jesus does say in John 21:29 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I can have complete assurance that if God calls me into a situation, He will see me through!
On Tuesday night, we watched the Nativity Story for family night. It was a really good presentation of the events! I find that I understand Christmas so much better now that I have spent a semester at The Crossing. One thing that struck me was when the wise men placed their gifts by the manger saying “for the King of kings,” and “for the High Priest of High Priests.” All three wise men were very ornately dressed and they had five camels well loaded with stuff. It made me realize the inadequacy of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Really the only thing I can bring before such a King is my life, anything less seems trivial to me. Of course, life isn’t an easy thing to give up, but that’s the best part! With His life in me, Christ is the power by which I can give Christ everything. As weird as it sounds, Christ has given me everything so that I can give Him everything.
Since we had no DVD lectures this week, the classes that these lectures would usually take up were used to pack and clean. The house has been transformed as we put stuff away and give it one last thorough cleaning before the break. Since the guys will be changing rooms after the break, they had to empty everything out of their rooms and put it all in storage. I am really thankful that all the girls are in one room because it means that we can leave stuff in drawers and closets, we just needed to get everything put away so that nothing was visible.
On Thursday night, we had a talent show and a white elephant gift exchange. I was really surprised by some of the items in the talent show! Dale demonstrated some of his amazing guitar skills; Joel and Jonas danced to ‘Girls just want to have fun’ (they were dressed in dresses they borrowed from Kelsey and Amber so it was kind of creepy...); Ben and Robert each read a poem they had written; Ben, Robert, and Bryan played two songs (one of which was written by Ben. Bryan used a plastic bucket as a drum and played amazingly!); Amber, Kelsey, and Sheryl read a poem about life at the crossing (packed with awesome memories!); and Colin and Joseph sang a song.
There was also a Te Mapua ‘Oscar Awards Ceremony’ I could have attended on Thursday night, but arranging transportation would have been too difficult L. Te Mapua will be hosting another camp over New Years so that the at risk children will be out of their homes and in a safe and loving environment when they are most vulnerable, so you can be praying for these children as they hear the message of the gospel and are cared for in a way that some of them will never experience in their own homes.
On Friday morning, Amber and Michael made pancakes for everyone for brekkie (that’s what the Kiwi’s call breakfast). I helped flip. And then everyone cleaned and emptied rooms and as I write, students are moving suitcases downstairs and a few students have already left. Cara’s and my bus leaves at 3:20 this afternoon for Christchurch. I will be staying at the Sudima hotel for the night and then heading for the airport at 4:30am tomorrow morning to catch our flight to Sydney (which leaves at 7:00am). I am so excited to come home!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Journal for weeks 12 and 13
Hey! Here are my journal entries for both week 12 and week 13. I added the last three paragraphs this afternoon (pertaining to class this morning)...
- Christ came to live in me and through me. I have been so focussed on the ‘through me’ aspect that I have been neglecting the ‘in me’ part. God has been reminding me that I need to allow Him to fill me up with Himself, with His love, His faithfulness, and all that He is before He can use me to reach others. He needs to become my only focus.
- Jesus used four ‘steps’ in discipling his disciples: evangelizing, establishing, equipping, and extending. He taught them in a hands-on way, not just telling them what to do but showing them and letting them do what He had asked of them. This is the same method that I can use to disciple younger Christians. But first, I need to go deeper with God, without worrying about the breadth of my ministry because as I draw near to God, He will deal with it.
- With all the great men and woman of the scripture, we find they were all great people of prayer, “Without God, I cannot, and without prayer, God will not.” I realized this week that I have not been spending enough time in prayer. This needs to be my main priority and I need to give God my best time.
- Just as everything I will ever be was genetically present at the moment I was conceived in my mother’s womb, everything I will ever be as a Christian was placed in my when I accepted Jesus as my saviour. He has given me a new identity, but it will take time and effort to grow into all God wants me to be. I therefore need to be diligent about spending time with my creator and getting to know my saviour. My fleshly self is a sinful descendant of Adam, but my spiritual self died on the cross with Christ and therefore I now live, but “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20) My future has also changed. The future of the flesh is uncertain, but my new self is filled with certain because my hope lies in the fact that I am a joint heir with Christ!
- The Christian life isn’t hard, it’s impossible. But Jesus will do the impossible through me if I will obey. His direction always guarantees His provision. Everything Christ did was to enable us to live or His glory.
- “Unless we give real content to the wrath of God, unless we hold that men really deserve to have God visit upon them the painful consequences of their wrongdoing, we empty God’s forgiveness of its meaning” (Leon Morris). Jesus died once for all to pay the penalty for my sin (dealing with my ‘disease’) and He rose again to give me new life (dealing with my state of spiritual death) and with it the power to live by faith. By understanding who I have become (a new creation and daughter of the King!), sin looses its appeal.
- Upon conversion, the Holy Spirit transformed me, made me set apart, and sealed me. Now, the Holy Spirit is continuing to work in me by teaching me, empowering me to do what He asks, and leading me. He also intercedes for me when I don’t know how to pray, He is communicating to the Father on my behalf.
- I need to live in complete dependency on God. I still reside in a sinful body which will take over if I allow sin to reign. So I need to keep my relationship with God as my first priority because it is only by His strength in me that I can “not carry out the desires of the flesh”(Gal 5:16).
- Christ came to live in me and through me. I have been so focussed on the ‘through me’ aspect that I have been neglecting the ‘in me’ part. God has been reminding me that I need to allow Him to fill me up with Himself, with His love, His faithfulness, and all that He is before He can use me to reach others. He needs to become my only focus.
- Jesus used four ‘steps’ in discipling his disciples: evangelizing, establishing, equipping, and extending. He taught them in a hands-on way, not just telling them what to do but showing them and letting them do what He had asked of them. This is the same method that I can use to disciple younger Christians. But first, I need to go deeper with God, without worrying about the breadth of my ministry because as I draw near to God, He will deal with it.
- With all the great men and woman of the scripture, we find they were all great people of prayer, “Without God, I cannot, and without prayer, God will not.” I realized this week that I have not been spending enough time in prayer. This needs to be my main priority and I need to give God my best time.
- Just as everything I will ever be was genetically present at the moment I was conceived in my mother’s womb, everything I will ever be as a Christian was placed in my when I accepted Jesus as my saviour. He has given me a new identity, but it will take time and effort to grow into all God wants me to be. I therefore need to be diligent about spending time with my creator and getting to know my saviour. My fleshly self is a sinful descendant of Adam, but my spiritual self died on the cross with Christ and therefore I now live, but “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20) My future has also changed. The future of the flesh is uncertain, but my new self is filled with certain because my hope lies in the fact that I am a joint heir with Christ!
- The Christian life isn’t hard, it’s impossible. But Jesus will do the impossible through me if I will obey. His direction always guarantees His provision. Everything Christ did was to enable us to live or His glory.
- “Unless we give real content to the wrath of God, unless we hold that men really deserve to have God visit upon them the painful consequences of their wrongdoing, we empty God’s forgiveness of its meaning” (Leon Morris). Jesus died once for all to pay the penalty for my sin (dealing with my ‘disease’) and He rose again to give me new life (dealing with my state of spiritual death) and with it the power to live by faith. By understanding who I have become (a new creation and daughter of the King!), sin looses its appeal.
- My motivation for living as Christ would have me live needs to be simply because I love Him, not to try to earn acceptance, otherwise this is legalism. My power to live as Christ would have me live needs to come from Christ Himself indwelling me, otherwise I am doing it on my own power and am enslaved to the law.
- Upon conversion, the Holy Spirit transformed me, made me set apart, and sealed me. Now, the Holy Spirit is continuing to work in me by teaching me, empowering me to do what He asks, and leading me. He also intercedes for me when I don’t know how to pray, He is communicating to the Father on my behalf.
- I need to live in complete dependency on God. I still reside in a sinful body which will take over if I allow sin to reign. So I need to keep my relationship with God as my first priority because it is only by His strength in me that I can “not carry out the desires of the flesh”(Gal 5:16).
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Week 12
Our main lecturer this week is Lincoln Badger. He is a really good teacher with a passion for the material he is speaking on. He often goes off on tangents but even these are relevant to our Christian walk. We have also been listening to a DVD lecture by Sonny Westbrook called “How much can Jesus do.” So the focus of the week has been mostly on Jesus (not that that is different from any other week... :P).
This week has been fairly busy since our second Bible study was due. Many students spent most afternoons researching, looking up Greek words, and digging into God’s word. I am so glad to be learning how do create a Bible study. It’s not easy, but it’s such a valuable tool and it is allowing us to learn for ourselves from God’s word rather than always relying on our teachers and pastors to ‘feed’ us.
On Tuesday, I got my first bingo. Basically, if you are the only girl at a table with all guys or the only guy at a table with all girls, you have to stand up on your chair and yell bingo. Sheryl is pretty good at getting bingos and Dale has gotten one or two. Just another way the students here at The Crossing have fun...
Wednesday workday was really fun! I went to the Epp’s with Jordan and Jonas. We got tons of ivy and weeds pulled out and we started laying down hay to prevent new weeds from coming up. It was tough work and I got stabbed by several rose thorns, but iwas really rewarding to see the difference! And the best this about workday is that we get pudding (that’s the Kiwi word for desert) after tea!
After Wednesday tea, Cam and I went out for what has become our regular after-tea walk. It was super fun because we got to walk in the rain! We’ve had tons of good conversations and tons of laughs. On Tuesday, Cam and I started skipping/running/laughing/spinning our way down the drive on our way out for our walk. Apparently, Lincoln (our teacher for the week) watched us go by and then turned to Jordan and asked “What is that?” and “Is that a common occurrence?” Needless to say, I thought this was quite funny! As one of the students here pointed out, being willing to do stuff you would never be seen doing with people who weren’t your friends, to be crazy, and do wacky stuff with people can break down barriers and create stronger friendships. And besides, it is so much fun to run/skip/etc down the drive and let out some pent up energy and insanity!
On Friday, after a sumptuous Mexican meal put on by the staff, we had our last girl/guy night of the semester. The guys stayed at The Crossing and played a night game outdoors that seems to resemble capture the flag. The girls went to the Epps for our final “secret sister revealing party.” We each tried to guess who our secret sister was and then we revealed who ours was. I guessed right: Patti! But Sheryl didn’t guess that I was her secret sister. Just in case I forgot to explain what that was in a previous post, I will do so now. Basically, towards the beginning of the semester, we all filled out a sheet indicating out favourite candy, color, bible passages, etc, as well as specific items we would like prayer for over the course of the semester. The sheets were then distributed so that we each had someone else’s sheet and then we were to pray specifically for our secret sister throughout the semester. We also gave our secret sister notes and small gifts to encourage her and remind her that we were praying for her. It was tons of fun!
When we got back to the crossing, we decided to play an awesome game of sardines. It was so dark that there were areas in the house where I actually couldn’t see me hand in front of my face! And since we had rearranged the dinning room for the Mexican dinner, I ran into quite a few chairs on my way through. I ended up going to bed at midnight...
On Saturday, a bunch of us were planning on going white water rafting but since the water level was too high, it was cancelled. Instead, we went to castle hill. Our first stop was at a spot with tons of huge rocks. We climbed over, around, and through the rocks, exploring and playing tag. The wind was insane so at times I actually had to sit down to keep from being blown over! Afterwards, we went to a stream that ran through a cave. We followed the stream through the cave and out to the other side of the mountain, wading through water that was sometimes waist high, climbing down tiny waterfalls, scaling rocks all in complete darkness (we did have head torches, that is flashlights). At one point, I lost a crock while climbing down a small waterfall (I missed the memo indicating that we needed good shoes...) but it floated down stream and caught up with me about five minutes later. Unfortunately, I got the other crock stuck between two rocks shortly thereafter and the straps broke so I spent the majority of the walk with only one shoe. We were told to dress warmly (togs, that is swimsuits, with a long sleeve shirt and/or sweater) so I was expecting it to be really cold but it turned out not to be that bad! Once we got out at the other end, we went swimming in the river. We had a blast trying to fight our way against the flow trying to get up the river (as Joel said as he struggled against the flow “I’m a Christian!”). We would also climb along the bank and the get into the river further up and then let ourselves be pulled by the current down to the ‘pool’. The whole day was soooooooooooo much fun!
The day was very well finished with a hilarious game of volleyball. My coordination wasn’t very good though (probably because of my late night combined with an exhausting day...).
This week has been fairly busy since our second Bible study was due. Many students spent most afternoons researching, looking up Greek words, and digging into God’s word. I am so glad to be learning how do create a Bible study. It’s not easy, but it’s such a valuable tool and it is allowing us to learn for ourselves from God’s word rather than always relying on our teachers and pastors to ‘feed’ us.
On Tuesday, I got my first bingo. Basically, if you are the only girl at a table with all guys or the only guy at a table with all girls, you have to stand up on your chair and yell bingo. Sheryl is pretty good at getting bingos and Dale has gotten one or two. Just another way the students here at The Crossing have fun...
Wednesday workday was really fun! I went to the Epp’s with Jordan and Jonas. We got tons of ivy and weeds pulled out and we started laying down hay to prevent new weeds from coming up. It was tough work and I got stabbed by several rose thorns, but iwas really rewarding to see the difference! And the best this about workday is that we get pudding (that’s the Kiwi word for desert) after tea!
After Wednesday tea, Cam and I went out for what has become our regular after-tea walk. It was super fun because we got to walk in the rain! We’ve had tons of good conversations and tons of laughs. On Tuesday, Cam and I started skipping/running/laughing/spinning our way down the drive on our way out for our walk. Apparently, Lincoln (our teacher for the week) watched us go by and then turned to Jordan and asked “What is that?” and “Is that a common occurrence?” Needless to say, I thought this was quite funny! As one of the students here pointed out, being willing to do stuff you would never be seen doing with people who weren’t your friends, to be crazy, and do wacky stuff with people can break down barriers and create stronger friendships. And besides, it is so much fun to run/skip/etc down the drive and let out some pent up energy and insanity!
On Friday, after a sumptuous Mexican meal put on by the staff, we had our last girl/guy night of the semester. The guys stayed at The Crossing and played a night game outdoors that seems to resemble capture the flag. The girls went to the Epps for our final “secret sister revealing party.” We each tried to guess who our secret sister was and then we revealed who ours was. I guessed right: Patti! But Sheryl didn’t guess that I was her secret sister. Just in case I forgot to explain what that was in a previous post, I will do so now. Basically, towards the beginning of the semester, we all filled out a sheet indicating out favourite candy, color, bible passages, etc, as well as specific items we would like prayer for over the course of the semester. The sheets were then distributed so that we each had someone else’s sheet and then we were to pray specifically for our secret sister throughout the semester. We also gave our secret sister notes and small gifts to encourage her and remind her that we were praying for her. It was tons of fun!
When we got back to the crossing, we decided to play an awesome game of sardines. It was so dark that there were areas in the house where I actually couldn’t see me hand in front of my face! And since we had rearranged the dinning room for the Mexican dinner, I ran into quite a few chairs on my way through. I ended up going to bed at midnight...
On Saturday, a bunch of us were planning on going white water rafting but since the water level was too high, it was cancelled. Instead, we went to castle hill. Our first stop was at a spot with tons of huge rocks. We climbed over, around, and through the rocks, exploring and playing tag. The wind was insane so at times I actually had to sit down to keep from being blown over! Afterwards, we went to a stream that ran through a cave. We followed the stream through the cave and out to the other side of the mountain, wading through water that was sometimes waist high, climbing down tiny waterfalls, scaling rocks all in complete darkness (we did have head torches, that is flashlights). At one point, I lost a crock while climbing down a small waterfall (I missed the memo indicating that we needed good shoes...) but it floated down stream and caught up with me about five minutes later. Unfortunately, I got the other crock stuck between two rocks shortly thereafter and the straps broke so I spent the majority of the walk with only one shoe. We were told to dress warmly (togs, that is swimsuits, with a long sleeve shirt and/or sweater) so I was expecting it to be really cold but it turned out not to be that bad! Once we got out at the other end, we went swimming in the river. We had a blast trying to fight our way against the flow trying to get up the river (as Joel said as he struggled against the flow “I’m a Christian!”). We would also climb along the bank and the get into the river further up and then let ourselves be pulled by the current down to the ‘pool’. The whole day was soooooooooooo much fun!
The day was very well finished with a hilarious game of volleyball. My coordination wasn’t very good though (probably because of my late night combined with an exhausting day...).
Monday, December 7, 2009
Just for Fun!
Two activities that the students at the Crossing enjoy are the sheep beep shuffle and cow running. Here are the rules of the games:
Sheep beep shuffle
You will need: a car with a working horn and a field of sheep.
Number of players: Minimum 1, maximum equivalent to the number of seatbelts available in the car (plus or minus 2 depending on the moral standards of the driver).
Rules: As player 1 drives by a sheep field, he/she honks the horn. Now watch as all the sheep in the field go running in the opposite direction. Repeat for each pasture passed for extra added fun.
Provides plenty of entertainment and lots of laughs for all passengers in the car!
Cow Running
You will need: a field and plenty of cows
Number of players: 1 to everyone
Rules: As players approach the cows, they say “hey cow!” and clap their hands or make noise to attract the cows’ attention. Once the attention of the cows has been obtained, players run along the fence. Glory is earned according to the number of cows that run towards players and follow players along the fence. Extra glory can be earned if any player approaches the fence and touches a cow, provided that this does not take too much time so as to slow down the rest of the players who want to continue walking.
A wonderful game for children of all ages!
Sheep beep shuffle
You will need: a car with a working horn and a field of sheep.
Number of players: Minimum 1, maximum equivalent to the number of seatbelts available in the car (plus or minus 2 depending on the moral standards of the driver).
Rules: As player 1 drives by a sheep field, he/she honks the horn. Now watch as all the sheep in the field go running in the opposite direction. Repeat for each pasture passed for extra added fun.
Provides plenty of entertainment and lots of laughs for all passengers in the car!
Cow Running
You will need: a field and plenty of cows
Number of players: 1 to everyone
Rules: As players approach the cows, they say “hey cow!” and clap their hands or make noise to attract the cows’ attention. Once the attention of the cows has been obtained, players run along the fence. Glory is earned according to the number of cows that run towards players and follow players along the fence. Extra glory can be earned if any player approaches the fence and touches a cow, provided that this does not take too much time so as to slow down the rest of the players who want to continue walking.
A wonderful game for children of all ages!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Did you know?
Did you know (#3) that the Moa, a bird that resemble the ostrich but is much, much larger, was found only in New Zealand until it too was hunted to extinction by the Maori. The Moa could resembled a dinosaur because of feet with three talons and the fact that it couldn’t fly.
Did you know (#4) that the Kia is a parrot native to New Zealand that will dive at hikers and steal objects from backpacks or huts?
Did you know (#4) that the Kia is a parrot native to New Zealand that will dive at hikers and steal objects from backpacks or huts?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Week 11
Two more weeks till Christmas break!
To give you an idea of the other students I am staying with here at the crossing, here are some links to their blogs. I would highly recommend checking out Adam’s blog, especially the guest post by Jordan Lee.
Adam’s blog: http://www.newzealandspiritparade.blogspot.com/
Cara’s blog: http://www.caraleekiwi.blogspot.com/
On Monday, Hobart (our dishwasher) broke which made lunch cleanup (my daily duty for the next three weeks) slightly more difficult. But the quality of Sheryl’s cooking was in no way diminished by the “hardships with Hobart” as Joel put it. Hobart is feeling much better now to the relief of all of the concerned students.
Our teacher this week, Lew Meyers (teaching on apologetics), has a really dry sense of humour so we have been quite enjoying his jokes! I think the final count on Wednesday was 49 jokes in four classes! And I think the total at the end of the week was somewhere around 90 (that we managed to pick up on, and that was only in class, not during meals and morning tea)! He mentioned that, if at all possible, it is a very good idea to become friends with an undertaker... because they will be the last ones to let you down. When discussing demons, he made sure to remind us always to make sure you pay your fees... otherwise you might be repossessed. He also told us about his sister who married an Aussie (and Australian). He would have preferred a human, but that’s ok (the NZ/Australian jokes can be quite funny!). And one more: A mother skunk had two sons, In and Out. And sometimes In was out and Out was in. And sometimes In was in and Out was out. But she always knew which was which, do you know how? Because In-stinked!
We also had a DVD lecture by the director of the Capernwray school in BC. He taught on the book of Deuteronomy. I though he was really interesting and it was quite neat to hear that he had a testimony quite similar to my own!
I have been trying to run every second (or third or fourth) day. It’s been tons of fun and I have actually noticed an improvement! Cara and Cam often invite me to join them on their runs.
We had workday on Thursday this week since it was raining on Wednesday. I got to trim rosebushes again! Joseph was trimming the big hedge and so I got to climb up on top of it. The branches are so dense and thick that I could actually walk around on top of the hedge! Although Robert, who climbed up with me, did fall through once or twice :P. Apparently (and I will have to try this some time), it is possible to scale the hedge directly without using a ladder!
I have spent quite a bit of time this week working on a Bible study on Titus 2:11-15 which is due next Friday. I am having much less difficulty on this Bible study than I was having on my first!
On Sunday, we went into Timaru to attend the Life Church and in the afternoon, we helped out at the “Christmas Carol Cafe” put on by the Life Church. I read Isaiah 9:6 in French (they had several people reading different passages in different languages to emphasize the fact the message of the gospel is a global message). Robert, Colin, and Michael sang a few songs with Joseph on the guitar, Cam on the piano, and Bryan on the drums. It was beautiful! It’s really cool to hear the musical talent here at The Crossing! The entire event was really well done (although it was kind of weird at one point when Santa and Jesus were dancing on the stage together for the final song :P). What struck me most was that it wasn’t just a manger scene story, but they actually told the entire story, from Jesus’ birth to death to resurrection! What a good reminder that this season is not about a cute baby in a warm cozy stable but about the Son of God who came down to restore His name and to restore His creation to Himself for His glory!
On Saturday evening, after some encouraging, I went out to join the girls who were dancing on the road a little ways from the school (don’t worry, we stopped and got off the road long before the cars got close). It was wacky and fun and we laughed a lot!
I finally got a picture up of the awesome gang here at The Crossing in the header for my blog (sorry about the wierd colours, I have yet to find a color that is legible for the title). Just in case you were wondering, the people in the picture from left to right are (top row): Joseph, Dale Michael, Adam, Jordan, Colin, Joel, Jonas, Robert, Ben and Bryan. The second row, from left to right: Cam, Patti, Justus, Sheryl, Hanna, Isabelle, Kelsey, Cara, Amber, and me.
To give you an idea of the other students I am staying with here at the crossing, here are some links to their blogs. I would highly recommend checking out Adam’s blog, especially the guest post by Jordan Lee.
Adam’s blog: http://www.newzealandspiritparade.blogspot.com/
Cara’s blog: http://www.caraleekiwi.blogspot.com/
On Monday, Hobart (our dishwasher) broke which made lunch cleanup (my daily duty for the next three weeks) slightly more difficult. But the quality of Sheryl’s cooking was in no way diminished by the “hardships with Hobart” as Joel put it. Hobart is feeling much better now to the relief of all of the concerned students.
Our teacher this week, Lew Meyers (teaching on apologetics), has a really dry sense of humour so we have been quite enjoying his jokes! I think the final count on Wednesday was 49 jokes in four classes! And I think the total at the end of the week was somewhere around 90 (that we managed to pick up on, and that was only in class, not during meals and morning tea)! He mentioned that, if at all possible, it is a very good idea to become friends with an undertaker... because they will be the last ones to let you down. When discussing demons, he made sure to remind us always to make sure you pay your fees... otherwise you might be repossessed. He also told us about his sister who married an Aussie (and Australian). He would have preferred a human, but that’s ok (the NZ/Australian jokes can be quite funny!). And one more: A mother skunk had two sons, In and Out. And sometimes In was out and Out was in. And sometimes In was in and Out was out. But she always knew which was which, do you know how? Because In-stinked!
We also had a DVD lecture by the director of the Capernwray school in BC. He taught on the book of Deuteronomy. I though he was really interesting and it was quite neat to hear that he had a testimony quite similar to my own!
I have been trying to run every second (or third or fourth) day. It’s been tons of fun and I have actually noticed an improvement! Cara and Cam often invite me to join them on their runs.
We had workday on Thursday this week since it was raining on Wednesday. I got to trim rosebushes again! Joseph was trimming the big hedge and so I got to climb up on top of it. The branches are so dense and thick that I could actually walk around on top of the hedge! Although Robert, who climbed up with me, did fall through once or twice :P. Apparently (and I will have to try this some time), it is possible to scale the hedge directly without using a ladder!
I have spent quite a bit of time this week working on a Bible study on Titus 2:11-15 which is due next Friday. I am having much less difficulty on this Bible study than I was having on my first!
On Sunday, we went into Timaru to attend the Life Church and in the afternoon, we helped out at the “Christmas Carol Cafe” put on by the Life Church. I read Isaiah 9:6 in French (they had several people reading different passages in different languages to emphasize the fact the message of the gospel is a global message). Robert, Colin, and Michael sang a few songs with Joseph on the guitar, Cam on the piano, and Bryan on the drums. It was beautiful! It’s really cool to hear the musical talent here at The Crossing! The entire event was really well done (although it was kind of weird at one point when Santa and Jesus were dancing on the stage together for the final song :P). What struck me most was that it wasn’t just a manger scene story, but they actually told the entire story, from Jesus’ birth to death to resurrection! What a good reminder that this season is not about a cute baby in a warm cozy stable but about the Son of God who came down to restore His name and to restore His creation to Himself for His glory!
On Saturday evening, after some encouraging, I went out to join the girls who were dancing on the road a little ways from the school (don’t worry, we stopped and got off the road long before the cars got close). It was wacky and fun and we laughed a lot!
I finally got a picture up of the awesome gang here at The Crossing in the header for my blog (sorry about the wierd colours, I have yet to find a color that is legible for the title). Just in case you were wondering, the people in the picture from left to right are (top row): Joseph, Dale Michael, Adam, Jordan, Colin, Joel, Jonas, Robert, Ben and Bryan. The second row, from left to right: Cam, Patti, Justus, Sheryl, Hanna, Isabelle, Kelsey, Cara, Amber, and me.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Journal for Week 11
I decided to be ahead of schedule this time and post my journal for this week early!
- The Israelites needed to keep their mountaintop experience with them after they left the wilderness and went into Canaan. They could not stay at the mountain forever, they had to move on, but they had to remember and put into practice everything they had learnt on the mountain. In the same way, my year at The Crossing is like my ‘mountain top experience.’ I need to remember and put into practice what I am learning here. Everything I am learning is of no use if it stays here, I need to apply it and live it.
- God is unchanging and this is an attribute unique to God. God never changes for me, rather I change for Him (and through Him). This means that He always feels the same towards me no mater what I do because I am covered by Christ’s righteousness! And therefore, I can take courage in the fact that God is constant.
- Through His covenant with Abraham, Abraham had all that God is and God had all that Abraham was. This means that, since I have been grafted onto the family of Abraham, I am also part of this covenant and I have all that God is and He has all that I am!
- If I am a true soldier of God, the devil will come against me. And he will likely come in the same way as The Rabshakeh came to the Israelites in Isaiah 36 by making me assume I am out of God’s will when in fact God wants me to run directly to Him. The devil may use a little bit of truth to deceive me so I need to know God’s word so that I can tell the truth from a lie or a part-truth.
- A Christian will not be perfect the day after they are converted. And yet, we tend to immediately put restrictions on new Christians of what they should and should not do. Instead, we need to trust that God will work out the good work He has begun.
- God doesn’t want me to be committed to Him because that implies that I am still in control. Instead, He wants me to surrender to His life in me. As a Christian, I should be identified by Christ in me, but too often, I identify myself by what I do and don’t do.
- I need to be focused on the character of Christ rather than on the giants in my life. Whether circumstances are easy or hard is irrelevant because with God, all things are possible! If I focus on the circumstance rather than on Christ, I will come to wrong conclusions about Christ.
- There are two attitudes that will keep me from entering Canaan (the fullness of life available in Christ): an “I can do it myself” attitude and a “can’t I just have a little bit of Egypt?” attitude.
- Learning about apologetics is important so that I will be able to properly answer questions and so that I can be sure of what I believe. But I have to remember that debates won’t convert people, but instead I need to live in a way that can only be explained by Christ in me.
- The Israelites needed to keep their mountaintop experience with them after they left the wilderness and went into Canaan. They could not stay at the mountain forever, they had to move on, but they had to remember and put into practice everything they had learnt on the mountain. In the same way, my year at The Crossing is like my ‘mountain top experience.’ I need to remember and put into practice what I am learning here. Everything I am learning is of no use if it stays here, I need to apply it and live it.
- God is unchanging and this is an attribute unique to God. God never changes for me, rather I change for Him (and through Him). This means that He always feels the same towards me no mater what I do because I am covered by Christ’s righteousness! And therefore, I can take courage in the fact that God is constant.
- Through His covenant with Abraham, Abraham had all that God is and God had all that Abraham was. This means that, since I have been grafted onto the family of Abraham, I am also part of this covenant and I have all that God is and He has all that I am!
- If I am a true soldier of God, the devil will come against me. And he will likely come in the same way as The Rabshakeh came to the Israelites in Isaiah 36 by making me assume I am out of God’s will when in fact God wants me to run directly to Him. The devil may use a little bit of truth to deceive me so I need to know God’s word so that I can tell the truth from a lie or a part-truth.
- A Christian will not be perfect the day after they are converted. And yet, we tend to immediately put restrictions on new Christians of what they should and should not do. Instead, we need to trust that God will work out the good work He has begun.
- God doesn’t want me to be committed to Him because that implies that I am still in control. Instead, He wants me to surrender to His life in me. As a Christian, I should be identified by Christ in me, but too often, I identify myself by what I do and don’t do.
- I need to be focused on the character of Christ rather than on the giants in my life. Whether circumstances are easy or hard is irrelevant because with God, all things are possible! If I focus on the circumstance rather than on Christ, I will come to wrong conclusions about Christ.
- There are two attitudes that will keep me from entering Canaan (the fullness of life available in Christ): an “I can do it myself” attitude and a “can’t I just have a little bit of Egypt?” attitude.
- Learning about apologetics is important so that I will be able to properly answer questions and so that I can be sure of what I believe. But I have to remember that debates won’t convert people, but instead I need to live in a way that can only be explained by Christ in me.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Journal for week 10
Again, Sorry for the tardy journal entry, but hopefully, it is more coherent this way :P.
- Too often, I get comfortable where I am and then God uses the circumstances around me to get me moving again. My prayer is that I will learn to live like Paul, having more effect on the prisons in my life than they have on me. I want to use my ‘prisons’ to bring glory to God and allow other to see Christ in me. It is only through Christ, through repentance and faith, that I can be set free. And like Paul and Silas in prison, I can use my prison experience just as I can use any other experience as an opportunity to be bold and give the glory to God.
- As I obey Christ in the small things, He will entrust me to obey with bigger things. But I need to stop focussing on trying to figure out what the big things God wants to trust me with are and be faithful with the small things.
- In Philippians, Paul encourages us to be servants. This requires absolute obedience, absolute humility, and absolute servitude. First and foremost, I need to serve God, then I can properly serve others. I need to stop focussing so much on my rights and focus on the rights of others and I need to learn to love others the way they need to be loved, not the way I want to be loved. I need to open my eyes to see and observe, but I can never cultivate the habit of observing if I don’t get over my own needs.
- I want to learn to give thanks to God in ALL circumstances, for the circumstances (whether good or bad) and for who God is, and what He is doing in the circumstances. I want to have a perspective of proclamation and I want God to use me to be a witness to Him in every circumstance.
- My prayer is that God would work in me so I can put 1 Corinthians 10:31 into practice: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” However, I need to remember that the only way Christ will get glory out of me is through Christ in me, not by my own efforts.
- “The eternal enemy of the best is that which is good.” I need to be careful not to settle for good when I can have the best which is Christ. I need to be pure and blameless so that any accusation against me will not stick. I want to earnestly seek that which is best, not settling for what is merely good.
- My aim needs to be to focus people on Christ, not on myself.
- It was not I who stepped towards Christ first, but rather Christ who stepped towards me (Romans 5:6). I am powerless to get myself out of my situation! But it is Christ who works in me, empowers me, and energizes me according to His good purpose. God empowers me, but I still need to obey. As A. W. Tozer put it, “I am as holy as I choose to be.” I need to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. I also need to hold tight to my faith and then hold it out to others.
- I need to simply trust God rather than work to please God (which can only lead to insecurity). I need to have a singleness of purpose and forget what is behind (whether it is good or bad) because that can only ever pull me back and slow me down.
- God never intended the Israelites to stay in the wilderness for long. His plan was to bring them out of Egypt and then lead them to the promised land. It is much the same in the Christian life. Through His sacrifice, Christ saved me out of bondage to sin. Unfortunately, I have spent the majority of my life wandering in the desert. I had been saved, but I was not living in Canaan as God intended. I had not realized the dramatic change Christ’s life in me could make if I allowed Him. These ten weeks at Bible College have made me realize that the Christian life is not just a set of rules and a way of talking but now I realize the power of my new purity, my new identity, my new disposition, and my new power in Christ.
- Nothing I do is good unless it is God who is doing it.
- If God is working through me, I will get tired, but He will sustain me!
- In Peter Bichan’s lectures on Mount Somers last week, he asked the question “What do you want to be remembered for after you die?” I want to be remembered for being filled with the joy of Christ, being thankful for and in every situation, and for giving God all the glory. I want to be remembered for pointing people to Christ in every situation. I want to be hated or loved – I don’t mind which – just so long as Christ’s life in me causes others to react.
- Too often, I get comfortable where I am and then God uses the circumstances around me to get me moving again. My prayer is that I will learn to live like Paul, having more effect on the prisons in my life than they have on me. I want to use my ‘prisons’ to bring glory to God and allow other to see Christ in me. It is only through Christ, through repentance and faith, that I can be set free. And like Paul and Silas in prison, I can use my prison experience just as I can use any other experience as an opportunity to be bold and give the glory to God.
- As I obey Christ in the small things, He will entrust me to obey with bigger things. But I need to stop focussing on trying to figure out what the big things God wants to trust me with are and be faithful with the small things.
- In Philippians, Paul encourages us to be servants. This requires absolute obedience, absolute humility, and absolute servitude. First and foremost, I need to serve God, then I can properly serve others. I need to stop focussing so much on my rights and focus on the rights of others and I need to learn to love others the way they need to be loved, not the way I want to be loved. I need to open my eyes to see and observe, but I can never cultivate the habit of observing if I don’t get over my own needs.
- I want to learn to give thanks to God in ALL circumstances, for the circumstances (whether good or bad) and for who God is, and what He is doing in the circumstances. I want to have a perspective of proclamation and I want God to use me to be a witness to Him in every circumstance.
- My prayer is that God would work in me so I can put 1 Corinthians 10:31 into practice: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” However, I need to remember that the only way Christ will get glory out of me is through Christ in me, not by my own efforts.
- “The eternal enemy of the best is that which is good.” I need to be careful not to settle for good when I can have the best which is Christ. I need to be pure and blameless so that any accusation against me will not stick. I want to earnestly seek that which is best, not settling for what is merely good.
- My aim needs to be to focus people on Christ, not on myself.
- It was not I who stepped towards Christ first, but rather Christ who stepped towards me (Romans 5:6). I am powerless to get myself out of my situation! But it is Christ who works in me, empowers me, and energizes me according to His good purpose. God empowers me, but I still need to obey. As A. W. Tozer put it, “I am as holy as I choose to be.” I need to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. I also need to hold tight to my faith and then hold it out to others.
- I need to simply trust God rather than work to please God (which can only lead to insecurity). I need to have a singleness of purpose and forget what is behind (whether it is good or bad) because that can only ever pull me back and slow me down.
- God never intended the Israelites to stay in the wilderness for long. His plan was to bring them out of Egypt and then lead them to the promised land. It is much the same in the Christian life. Through His sacrifice, Christ saved me out of bondage to sin. Unfortunately, I have spent the majority of my life wandering in the desert. I had been saved, but I was not living in Canaan as God intended. I had not realized the dramatic change Christ’s life in me could make if I allowed Him. These ten weeks at Bible College have made me realize that the Christian life is not just a set of rules and a way of talking but now I realize the power of my new purity, my new identity, my new disposition, and my new power in Christ.
- Nothing I do is good unless it is God who is doing it.
- If God is working through me, I will get tired, but He will sustain me!
- In Peter Bichan’s lectures on Mount Somers last week, he asked the question “What do you want to be remembered for after you die?” I want to be remembered for being filled with the joy of Christ, being thankful for and in every situation, and for giving God all the glory. I want to be remembered for pointing people to Christ in every situation. I want to be hated or loved – I don’t mind which – just so long as Christ’s life in me causes others to react.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Week 10
The tramp up mount Sommers was awesome! The first day was rather difficult with a very steep incline, but after stopping once completely out of breath, I learnt to pace myself. The first day (Tuesday) was the longest (about three and a half hours) and the most difficult. We reached the first hut at about 2pm and had lunch. The hut was really nice with bunk beds and a sink and a wood stove (which, fortunately, we didn’t have to use). However, since there weren’t enough bunks, some of the boys (who had brought tents and mattresses) camped outside. During the afternoon, we hiked up to some neat rock formations and I had my quiet time right beside the stream (it was quite beautiful!). No one slept too well either night, the first because it was our first night in the hut and the second because of a huge windstorm that beat against the second hut.
Peter Thomas, our teacher for the week, lead our expedition. During the tramp, He taught on Ephesians. We had classes in or just outside the huts and we also had a class on the last day on the mountain. It was really nice to get out of the classroom! My journal entry for this week will be posted at a later date seen as I have not had the opportunity to write it out yet.
The second day of hiking was easier and much more informative since I walked with Peter and he told us about NZ wildlife and tons of other stuff. During our tramp, Dale and Peter would give us questions to talk about in pairs. One was “If you were a dog, who would you bite?” Another one was “What fruit or vegetable best describes our life and why?” And another was “Describe the house you lived in when you were five.” All of the questions sparked some really interesting conversations!
Along the lower part of the mountain were tons of beach trees that were covered in a black moss like stuff. There are tiny bugs that live on the beach trees that produce a sweet liquid called honeydew. The last time the Capernwray students hiked this trail in previous years, the beach trees were covered in wasps that would collect the honeydew but this week, there were barely any wasps. This made hiking much easier and it also meant that we could stop for a sweet treat every now and then. You could collect two or three sweet drops on your finger and just eat it by itself.
We didn’t summit mount Sommers, instead we hiked around it and about half way up. We did get some pretty awesome views and we were blessed with amazing weather! We only had one injury. Bryan twisted his ankle on the last day as he was exploring the water caves.
We departed really early from the huts both mornings so we finished hiking for the day by 10 am! That meant that we had tons of time at the second hut to explore. We went swimming in Emerald Pool (a small pool in the river right bellow a small waterfall which we slid down). Since none of us had brought our togs (Kiwi for swimsuit), we went in with just our undergarments (guys and girls swam at separate times). We also hiked a little ways away form the hut to some water caves. We climbed through the caves, up the waterfalls and found some pretty cool places! We also got some nice girl time since the guys and the girls split up to do our exploring. I got some pretty awesome pictures!
In the evening of the second day, we walked up to a place right above Emerald Pool (on top of the cliffs that surround it) and had a worship and sharing time. It was really cool! It really hit me up there how small I am and how big God’s creation is and therefore how ginormous God is. It brought to mind Isaiah 40:12-14:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counsellor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?
We were asked to pick out one object in nature and use it to illustrate how God has been speaking to us in the past few days. I chose a blade of grass and spoke about Isaiah 40: 6-8 and how it talks about how all men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field. This life is so temporary and small in the grand scheme of things but God’s work stands forever and that is so amazing! One of the other guys shared about clouds. He said he really likes clouds and he was kind of disappointed that there weren’t any. He went on to say, however, that sometimes, even though we like the clouds, God takes them out of our life for a while. But He knows that if it was cloudy, there would be no way we could do what we are doing (in the example, this was swimming in Emerald pool). And God knows what we need and when we need it. And sometimes He takes things or people out of our lives for a time because He knows that that’s not what we need at the moment. I can say that I have seen God doing this in my life, taking away the things that distract me for a time so that I can focus on knowing Him.
God has been teaching me so much! I tend to hear something but then forget it just as quickly, but He has been faithful to tell me the same thing over and over again as I slowly learn. Going back to the basics of the Christian faith in these first 10 weeks at The Crossing have been so amazing! I don’t know why I haven’t heard all of this before – it was probably because I wasn’t listening – but hearing it for what sometimes feels like the first time (even if I have heard it several times already even at The Crossing) has been so amazing. And I am so grateful that God has moved some of the clouds out of the way for a little while so that I am not too distracted and so that I can focus on Him.
On Friday afternoon after a shorter-than-usual workday, we all got dressed up and then we decorated our Christmas tree and the house. Bruce (the elk in our classroom) is now our Rudolph and the rest of the house is all decked out. During our formal Christmas/American Thanksgiving supper, we even closed the drapes and lit candles so it felt more like Christmas. It’s so weird though to go outside and sit on the grass in the hot sun and think that Christmas is fast approaching! Later in the evening, we had a supper of tarts and eggnog and we played a game. The game consisted of pulling a “song title” or subject out of a hat and then we were given one minute to write lyrics and then we preformed it in front of the group. Some “titles” were “25 degrees on the 25th,” “Jordan fought a giant turkey and won,” and “A love song for a turkey.” They were all quite comical and we had a good laugh!
Saturday was a wonderfully relaxed day with ten of the fourteen students gone to Christchurch for some Christmas shopping and to attend the Coca Cola festival. For the four of us who stayed, Patti hosted a delicious meal of barbequed steak, scalloped potatoes, and salad. I managed to get quite a bit done with such a quiet house including writing and article for the trumpet, chatting with people from back home on the phone, and enjoying a quiet read.
After church on Sunday, Mrs Stephenson invited me up to her house for lunch. She is an amazing lady who goes to the first service at St. Andrews (which I have been walking in to town to attend for the past three or four weeks). She toured me around her house and her beautiful property. We chatted about our families. She told me about her grandchildren and how she met her late husband and how they had renovated their house. And she shared her testimony with me. Wow! She has an amazing testimony and I really admire her faith!
This evening (Sunday), the girls will be going to the Epp’s to visit with Patti. She is finding that since she no longer lives at the Crossing, she is not able to bond with the girls as well and so has proposed that we get together every second Sunday evening (when we don’t have Sunday night fellowship) so we can all get to know each other better.
Peter Thomas, our teacher for the week, lead our expedition. During the tramp, He taught on Ephesians. We had classes in or just outside the huts and we also had a class on the last day on the mountain. It was really nice to get out of the classroom! My journal entry for this week will be posted at a later date seen as I have not had the opportunity to write it out yet.
The second day of hiking was easier and much more informative since I walked with Peter and he told us about NZ wildlife and tons of other stuff. During our tramp, Dale and Peter would give us questions to talk about in pairs. One was “If you were a dog, who would you bite?” Another one was “What fruit or vegetable best describes our life and why?” And another was “Describe the house you lived in when you were five.” All of the questions sparked some really interesting conversations!
Along the lower part of the mountain were tons of beach trees that were covered in a black moss like stuff. There are tiny bugs that live on the beach trees that produce a sweet liquid called honeydew. The last time the Capernwray students hiked this trail in previous years, the beach trees were covered in wasps that would collect the honeydew but this week, there were barely any wasps. This made hiking much easier and it also meant that we could stop for a sweet treat every now and then. You could collect two or three sweet drops on your finger and just eat it by itself.
We didn’t summit mount Sommers, instead we hiked around it and about half way up. We did get some pretty awesome views and we were blessed with amazing weather! We only had one injury. Bryan twisted his ankle on the last day as he was exploring the water caves.
We departed really early from the huts both mornings so we finished hiking for the day by 10 am! That meant that we had tons of time at the second hut to explore. We went swimming in Emerald Pool (a small pool in the river right bellow a small waterfall which we slid down). Since none of us had brought our togs (Kiwi for swimsuit), we went in with just our undergarments (guys and girls swam at separate times). We also hiked a little ways away form the hut to some water caves. We climbed through the caves, up the waterfalls and found some pretty cool places! We also got some nice girl time since the guys and the girls split up to do our exploring. I got some pretty awesome pictures!
In the evening of the second day, we walked up to a place right above Emerald Pool (on top of the cliffs that surround it) and had a worship and sharing time. It was really cool! It really hit me up there how small I am and how big God’s creation is and therefore how ginormous God is. It brought to mind Isaiah 40:12-14:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counsellor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?
We were asked to pick out one object in nature and use it to illustrate how God has been speaking to us in the past few days. I chose a blade of grass and spoke about Isaiah 40: 6-8 and how it talks about how all men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field. This life is so temporary and small in the grand scheme of things but God’s work stands forever and that is so amazing! One of the other guys shared about clouds. He said he really likes clouds and he was kind of disappointed that there weren’t any. He went on to say, however, that sometimes, even though we like the clouds, God takes them out of our life for a while. But He knows that if it was cloudy, there would be no way we could do what we are doing (in the example, this was swimming in Emerald pool). And God knows what we need and when we need it. And sometimes He takes things or people out of our lives for a time because He knows that that’s not what we need at the moment. I can say that I have seen God doing this in my life, taking away the things that distract me for a time so that I can focus on knowing Him.
God has been teaching me so much! I tend to hear something but then forget it just as quickly, but He has been faithful to tell me the same thing over and over again as I slowly learn. Going back to the basics of the Christian faith in these first 10 weeks at The Crossing have been so amazing! I don’t know why I haven’t heard all of this before – it was probably because I wasn’t listening – but hearing it for what sometimes feels like the first time (even if I have heard it several times already even at The Crossing) has been so amazing. And I am so grateful that God has moved some of the clouds out of the way for a little while so that I am not too distracted and so that I can focus on Him.
On Friday afternoon after a shorter-than-usual workday, we all got dressed up and then we decorated our Christmas tree and the house. Bruce (the elk in our classroom) is now our Rudolph and the rest of the house is all decked out. During our formal Christmas/American Thanksgiving supper, we even closed the drapes and lit candles so it felt more like Christmas. It’s so weird though to go outside and sit on the grass in the hot sun and think that Christmas is fast approaching! Later in the evening, we had a supper of tarts and eggnog and we played a game. The game consisted of pulling a “song title” or subject out of a hat and then we were given one minute to write lyrics and then we preformed it in front of the group. Some “titles” were “25 degrees on the 25th,” “Jordan fought a giant turkey and won,” and “A love song for a turkey.” They were all quite comical and we had a good laugh!
Saturday was a wonderfully relaxed day with ten of the fourteen students gone to Christchurch for some Christmas shopping and to attend the Coca Cola festival. For the four of us who stayed, Patti hosted a delicious meal of barbequed steak, scalloped potatoes, and salad. I managed to get quite a bit done with such a quiet house including writing and article for the trumpet, chatting with people from back home on the phone, and enjoying a quiet read.
After church on Sunday, Mrs Stephenson invited me up to her house for lunch. She is an amazing lady who goes to the first service at St. Andrews (which I have been walking in to town to attend for the past three or four weeks). She toured me around her house and her beautiful property. We chatted about our families. She told me about her grandchildren and how she met her late husband and how they had renovated their house. And she shared her testimony with me. Wow! She has an amazing testimony and I really admire her faith!
This evening (Sunday), the girls will be going to the Epp’s to visit with Patti. She is finding that since she no longer lives at the Crossing, she is not able to bond with the girls as well and so has proposed that we get together every second Sunday evening (when we don’t have Sunday night fellowship) so we can all get to know each other better.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Journal for week 9
Sorry it took so long to get my journal for last week posted... Be sure to read the 'Did you know' post that I posted just a few minutes prior to this one!
- God placed the stars in the heavens and He names them and they proclaim His glory. It can be argued that the zodiac symbols tell the gospel!
- My prayer is that God would open my mind to understand the scriptures like He did for the two men on the road to Emmaus.
- God is real and God is speaking now!!!! He spoke tangibly and literally to the Israelites through the twelve stones on the high priest’s Ephod. He revealed His Shakina glory through the burning bush, the cloud and pillar of fire leading the Israelites. All of these show that God speaks literally and tangibly to His people, in History, and now! I also saw this demonstrated in the testimony of how God led Laurence and Peggy Epp to missions with Muslims. God spoke to each of them individually and made it clear that He was leading them to Yemen. This showed me that God still does reveal His will tangibly today! It made me realise that I need to trust that He will lead me. In fact, since He is I AM and is outside of time, He has already led me! It is not that He is outside of time as in that He is over time, but that He is now, He has no past or future, only ‘now’. Therefore, He has already accomplished His will in my life! I realise now that I can say, like Rahab, that He has given what He promised! He has saved me, He has redeemed me, He has accomplished His will in my life, and He has brought me into His presence (Ephesians 3:1, notice the past tense). And, when I am no longer in time, when I am with I AM, it will not be eternity in the sense of endless days but eternity in the sense of unlimited ‘now.’ Every moment will be filled and complete by the presence of God.
- Christ is better than angels, better than Moses, and better than a High Priest. This is because He is the Son of God, He is Creator, and He is to be served and worshiped. Because Jesus is the Son, He carries the attributes of God. This should be the same for me since I have been adopted as the ‘son’ of God and since Christ indwells me. Although Moses accomplished a lot, Jesus accomplished more, bringing all who will believe into eternal rest. This rest is a Sabbath rest, an active rest where everything that is done is done according to how God meant it to be done. A High Priest could only serve as a mediator between God and the people for a limited amount of time but Christ intercedes forever. He is the complete sacrifice and therefore I can be assured of my salvation.
- Jesus is also a better covenant, sanctuary, and sacrifice. He not only restored humanities relationship with God but renewed our inner nature! He made it possible for anyone to come into God’s presence and so I can come to God in confidence. Also, He is the final sacrifice. He only needed to die once.
- I need to be careful not to drift away from God. This can happen slowly, without me even noticing. I also need to be careful that my heart is not hardened and that I do not fall away from God because of ignorance or laziness.
- The law given to the Israelites was not meant to last forever. It was meant to show the character of God, to protect and instruct them. It was also to foreshadow the coming Messiah.
- The law cannot and never could bring salvation, it could only, like a mirror, reveal sin. Now, with the new covenant, our hearts are changed. It is internal as opposed to the external law.
- God placed the stars in the heavens and He names them and they proclaim His glory. It can be argued that the zodiac symbols tell the gospel!
- My prayer is that God would open my mind to understand the scriptures like He did for the two men on the road to Emmaus.
- God is real and God is speaking now!!!! He spoke tangibly and literally to the Israelites through the twelve stones on the high priest’s Ephod. He revealed His Shakina glory through the burning bush, the cloud and pillar of fire leading the Israelites. All of these show that God speaks literally and tangibly to His people, in History, and now! I also saw this demonstrated in the testimony of how God led Laurence and Peggy Epp to missions with Muslims. God spoke to each of them individually and made it clear that He was leading them to Yemen. This showed me that God still does reveal His will tangibly today! It made me realise that I need to trust that He will lead me. In fact, since He is I AM and is outside of time, He has already led me! It is not that He is outside of time as in that He is over time, but that He is now, He has no past or future, only ‘now’. Therefore, He has already accomplished His will in my life! I realise now that I can say, like Rahab, that He has given what He promised! He has saved me, He has redeemed me, He has accomplished His will in my life, and He has brought me into His presence (Ephesians 3:1, notice the past tense). And, when I am no longer in time, when I am with I AM, it will not be eternity in the sense of endless days but eternity in the sense of unlimited ‘now.’ Every moment will be filled and complete by the presence of God.
- Christ is better than angels, better than Moses, and better than a High Priest. This is because He is the Son of God, He is Creator, and He is to be served and worshiped. Because Jesus is the Son, He carries the attributes of God. This should be the same for me since I have been adopted as the ‘son’ of God and since Christ indwells me. Although Moses accomplished a lot, Jesus accomplished more, bringing all who will believe into eternal rest. This rest is a Sabbath rest, an active rest where everything that is done is done according to how God meant it to be done. A High Priest could only serve as a mediator between God and the people for a limited amount of time but Christ intercedes forever. He is the complete sacrifice and therefore I can be assured of my salvation.
- Jesus is also a better covenant, sanctuary, and sacrifice. He not only restored humanities relationship with God but renewed our inner nature! He made it possible for anyone to come into God’s presence and so I can come to God in confidence. Also, He is the final sacrifice. He only needed to die once.
- I need to be careful not to drift away from God. This can happen slowly, without me even noticing. I also need to be careful that my heart is not hardened and that I do not fall away from God because of ignorance or laziness.
- The law given to the Israelites was not meant to last forever. It was meant to show the character of God, to protect and instruct them. It was also to foreshadow the coming Messiah.
- The law cannot and never could bring salvation, it could only, like a mirror, reveal sin. Now, with the new covenant, our hearts are changed. It is internal as opposed to the external law.
Did you know?
Did you know (#3) that the Moa, a bird that resemble the ostrich (but can be much larger), was found only in New Zealand until it too was hunted to extinction by the Maori. The Moa could resembled a dinosaur because of feet with three talons and the fact that it couldn’t fly.
Did you know (#4) that the Kia is a parrot native to New Zealand that will dive at hikers and steal objects from backpacks or huts?
Did you know (#4) that the Kia is a parrot native to New Zealand that will dive at hikers and steal objects from backpacks or huts?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Week 9
It’s good to be back home at The Crossing! This week, Peter Thomas (the son of Major Ian Thomas, the founder of the Capernwray Hall) is teaching on Hebrews. We also had a couple who came in and talked about witnessing to Muslims. Dale has also been teaching on Exodus. I will post my journal in a future post (probably around next Thursday or Friday) since I have not finished typing it up yet.
Monday afternoon, although I had planned to get ahead of some school work, was consumed with researching a concept I had never heard of before: that the speed of light is not constant but that it is in fact decaying over time! Peter Thomas brought up this subject (he has taught on Genesis and is quite knowledgeable in the subject of creation science) at the beginning of his first class. I spent the afternoon researching the concept as proposed by Barry Setterfield. Quite interesting... But it made me realise that I have a long way to go before I understand physics fully!
Tuesday lectures were amazing! God really spoke to me! For family night on Tuesday, we did a photo scavenger. Our families were split into two teams (I was with Cara, Kelsey, and Isabelle (Dale and Patti’s daughter)) who competed against each other, but we will also be competing all together against the other family group. The objective was to go around town getting pictures of as many items on the list we were given in a certain amount of time. The list included “take a picture with as many people on the street as possible” (We asked the people on a shuttle bus to get out and join in out picture and Amber’s group actually went into a restaurant and asked everyone to come out for a picture), “Go white water rafting,” “Take a picture with a Hyslop” (that’s the pastor’s family), “Climb a tree,” “Soak yourself in the river” (the river is still realy cold and jeans take a long time to dry...), “Get a stranger to push you in a cart,” “Push a stranger in a cart,” etc. It was tons of fun!!! My family group then went to Dale and Patti’s for supper (that is a late evening snack) and a few stories from Peter Thomas, our teacher for the week (the best was his story about how he was suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Prince Charles and Lady Diana).
On Wednesday, I worked in the house with Hanna. Since it was Cameron’s birthday, we had tiramisu for desert. It was really good! After supper (and after writing a few letters!), Hanna, Michael, Adam, and I read the next two chapters of “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” I’m really enjoying reading through the chronicles of Narnia! They carry so much meaning and they often spark discussions within our reading group. They also spark fits of laughter! For Cam’s birthday, the girls took all the mattresses off the bottom bunks and pushed beds and dressers out of the way to make one giant bed on the floor. Amber and Kelsey then made a heart on the bed with flowers and made a trail of flowers leading up to the room. All the girls had a sleep over on the floor. Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night in between two mattresses so I had to move, but it was a really neat idea! Since the single bed and two of the dressers were moved out of the way to make space for the mattresses on the floor we decided not to move them back since it gives us much more floor space. The room now feels much bigger!
On Friday after supper, we played a game of soccer in the back field. It was tons of fun (although the sand flies were slightly annoying...). Afterwards, we moved all the couches into the student lounge and watched Amazing Grace.
We had the option of going to a health seminar in Timaru on Saturday but Cam and I decided to get a ride into Timaru but get some much needed shopping done instead. I finally found a nice pair of running shoes!!!!! I also invested in a camping pillow (that will come in handy for out trip to Mount Summers next week). Saturday evening, we were invited to Tanya’s house (a friend of the Crossing’s) for a youth event. We were split into four teams and competed in a number of events throughout the evening. Tanya and James (another friend of the Crossing’s) also hosted a barbeque for everyone who participated. The first challenge was to build a raft that would carry our entire team down a section of the river. We also had to sing our national anthem while ‘floating.’ We were given three or four inner tubes per team, a few boards and several pieces of rope. On my team were Robert, Bryan, Adam, and Amber. Our raft was the best constructed but unfortunately it didn’t float (the largest inner tube was too deflated) and we forgot to sing our national anthems. So most of my team ended up pretty wet! At least we weren’t as wet as Jonas (he back flipped off his raft into the freezing cold water). It was really funny to watch the other teams go down!!
The last event was also hilarious! We were all tied together (in our respective teams) at the waist in a giant knot then we had to find four people who were hiding around the (rather large) property and collect a token from each. But we had to avoid the people with flashlights and, if we saw one, we had to hide under the sheet we were provided with so that they could not tell which team we were. Our team didn’t play quite by the rules, however, since we were all super tired. We did start in the right direction, but we got distracted and decided to all try to get into the back seat of a car that was parked in one of the fields (which was quite a feat since we were all tied together!). After that, we came across a hedgehog which Robert picked up and we carried with us for half the game. We ended up giving it to Tanya (I’m not sure she appreciated it... :P). Our team gave up before finishing but we had a blast!
On Sunday, Adam, Cameron and I walked into town to attend the earlier church service. I really enjoy singing the hymns. We stayed for the worship portion of the second service as well since Ben, Bryan, Michael, and Robert (four Crossing guys) were playing. Sunday evening, after fellowship, Patti invited all the girls up to her house for supper (evening snack) and some ‘girl time.’ The guys stayed at the Crossing to learn a Hakka. Unfortunately, this meant we got to bed really late (again...).
Monday afternoon, we spent most of our time packing and prepping for our hike up mount Summers. Everyone is excited! We are really hoping that the weather is not too cold (or too hot). We will be leaving the Crossing tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and getting back on Thursday afternoon.
Monday afternoon, although I had planned to get ahead of some school work, was consumed with researching a concept I had never heard of before: that the speed of light is not constant but that it is in fact decaying over time! Peter Thomas brought up this subject (he has taught on Genesis and is quite knowledgeable in the subject of creation science) at the beginning of his first class. I spent the afternoon researching the concept as proposed by Barry Setterfield. Quite interesting... But it made me realise that I have a long way to go before I understand physics fully!
Tuesday lectures were amazing! God really spoke to me! For family night on Tuesday, we did a photo scavenger. Our families were split into two teams (I was with Cara, Kelsey, and Isabelle (Dale and Patti’s daughter)) who competed against each other, but we will also be competing all together against the other family group. The objective was to go around town getting pictures of as many items on the list we were given in a certain amount of time. The list included “take a picture with as many people on the street as possible” (We asked the people on a shuttle bus to get out and join in out picture and Amber’s group actually went into a restaurant and asked everyone to come out for a picture), “Go white water rafting,” “Take a picture with a Hyslop” (that’s the pastor’s family), “Climb a tree,” “Soak yourself in the river” (the river is still realy cold and jeans take a long time to dry...), “Get a stranger to push you in a cart,” “Push a stranger in a cart,” etc. It was tons of fun!!! My family group then went to Dale and Patti’s for supper (that is a late evening snack) and a few stories from Peter Thomas, our teacher for the week (the best was his story about how he was suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Prince Charles and Lady Diana).
On Wednesday, I worked in the house with Hanna. Since it was Cameron’s birthday, we had tiramisu for desert. It was really good! After supper (and after writing a few letters!), Hanna, Michael, Adam, and I read the next two chapters of “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” I’m really enjoying reading through the chronicles of Narnia! They carry so much meaning and they often spark discussions within our reading group. They also spark fits of laughter! For Cam’s birthday, the girls took all the mattresses off the bottom bunks and pushed beds and dressers out of the way to make one giant bed on the floor. Amber and Kelsey then made a heart on the bed with flowers and made a trail of flowers leading up to the room. All the girls had a sleep over on the floor. Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night in between two mattresses so I had to move, but it was a really neat idea! Since the single bed and two of the dressers were moved out of the way to make space for the mattresses on the floor we decided not to move them back since it gives us much more floor space. The room now feels much bigger!
On Friday after supper, we played a game of soccer in the back field. It was tons of fun (although the sand flies were slightly annoying...). Afterwards, we moved all the couches into the student lounge and watched Amazing Grace.
We had the option of going to a health seminar in Timaru on Saturday but Cam and I decided to get a ride into Timaru but get some much needed shopping done instead. I finally found a nice pair of running shoes!!!!! I also invested in a camping pillow (that will come in handy for out trip to Mount Summers next week). Saturday evening, we were invited to Tanya’s house (a friend of the Crossing’s) for a youth event. We were split into four teams and competed in a number of events throughout the evening. Tanya and James (another friend of the Crossing’s) also hosted a barbeque for everyone who participated. The first challenge was to build a raft that would carry our entire team down a section of the river. We also had to sing our national anthem while ‘floating.’ We were given three or four inner tubes per team, a few boards and several pieces of rope. On my team were Robert, Bryan, Adam, and Amber. Our raft was the best constructed but unfortunately it didn’t float (the largest inner tube was too deflated) and we forgot to sing our national anthems. So most of my team ended up pretty wet! At least we weren’t as wet as Jonas (he back flipped off his raft into the freezing cold water). It was really funny to watch the other teams go down!!
The last event was also hilarious! We were all tied together (in our respective teams) at the waist in a giant knot then we had to find four people who were hiding around the (rather large) property and collect a token from each. But we had to avoid the people with flashlights and, if we saw one, we had to hide under the sheet we were provided with so that they could not tell which team we were. Our team didn’t play quite by the rules, however, since we were all super tired. We did start in the right direction, but we got distracted and decided to all try to get into the back seat of a car that was parked in one of the fields (which was quite a feat since we were all tied together!). After that, we came across a hedgehog which Robert picked up and we carried with us for half the game. We ended up giving it to Tanya (I’m not sure she appreciated it... :P). Our team gave up before finishing but we had a blast!
On Sunday, Adam, Cameron and I walked into town to attend the earlier church service. I really enjoy singing the hymns. We stayed for the worship portion of the second service as well since Ben, Bryan, Michael, and Robert (four Crossing guys) were playing. Sunday evening, after fellowship, Patti invited all the girls up to her house for supper (evening snack) and some ‘girl time.’ The guys stayed at the Crossing to learn a Hakka. Unfortunately, this meant we got to bed really late (again...).
Monday afternoon, we spent most of our time packing and prepping for our hike up mount Summers. Everyone is excited! We are really hoping that the weather is not too cold (or too hot). We will be leaving the Crossing tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and getting back on Thursday afternoon.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Double Rap!
Cara’s 18th birthday was on Saturday (while we were in Akaroa) and Cam’s 18th birthday was on Wednesday, so Joel and Ben performed a double rap for both of them on Wednesday. Here it is!
Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo
Cara this song is halfy about you
And the rest of the half we’ll get to, ooo
Cara I want to shave my facial hair off (Note: this is in reference to no-shave November)
But I know it makes your heart soft.
I bought batteries the other day
And now you’re two years younger than twentay.
And Cam, kabam, shuzam, ham, ram, sam
Pam and fam-ily is what you mean to me
Not directly but just spiritually
You are both girls
And you don’t like squirrels
Or possum feet
My apologeet. (Note: Joel mailed a possum foot to Cara as apratical joke which wasn’t received too well...)
You may want to travel to Calgaray
But don’t worry about that cuz
It’s your birthday!
Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo
Cara this song is halfy about you
And the rest of the half we’ll get to, ooo
Cara I want to shave my facial hair off (Note: this is in reference to no-shave November)
But I know it makes your heart soft.
I bought batteries the other day
And now you’re two years younger than twentay.
And Cam, kabam, shuzam, ham, ram, sam
Pam and fam-ily is what you mean to me
Not directly but just spiritually
You are both girls
And you don’t like squirrels
Or possum feet
My apologeet. (Note: Joel mailed a possum foot to Cara as apratical joke which wasn’t received too well...)
You may want to travel to Calgaray
But don’t worry about that cuz
It’s your birthday!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Character Sketches
Adam took the time to make character sketches of all the students at The Crossing. I will attempt to make up my own character sketches to give an idea of who I have been living with for the past eight weeks, but for now, here is a link to Adam's blog: http://newzealandspiritparade.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-character.html
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Week 8
This week, Ian Hyslop taught on Exodus and we finished the DVD lecture on Galatians 2:17-21. Here is my journal entry:
- God’s law always comes before man’s law as was exemplified in Exodus when the midwives, because they feared God, did not kill the male children of the Hebrews as Pharaoh had commanded. This shows that God uses people not because of their ability but because of their availability.
- Had Moses been confident he was in the will of God, he would not have had to look over his shoulder before murdering the Egyptian. He was seeking to please people, not God. In the same way, I have to “be still and know that He is God,” stop worrying and taking matters into my own hands and trust that God will bring about His will in His time. If I do not go God’s way and in God’s time, it is worth nothing and can only lead to failure and wandering in the desert.
- From Moses’ attempt at leadership, I can learn that all my goals need to be drowned in prayer. I need to take time to slow down and listen to what God is saying through His word, through circumstances, and through other older mature Christians. God will lead me, one step at a time. When I am in the centre of God’s will, His plan will flow.
- I can be temped to see people who seem to be burning bushes – on fire and filled with God – and be jealous of them and then resign myself to be a ‘burnt up bush,’ a heap of ashes, or just a spectator, watching others live totally for God. But I need to realize that I am what I am by the grace of God and that it is the living Christ who works in me to accomplish His will. I need to remember that I am nothing except with Christ. God is the eternal I AM, He is adequate right now! What I have is what He is: He does not give me strength, He is my strength; He does not give me victory, He is my victory.
- When I find myself in life’s deserts, God does four things: He finds me, He shields me, He cares for me, and He guides me. He does all this whether I believe Him or not. The purpose of these deserts is to humble and test me so that the true condition of my heart may be revealed.
- From Moses’ excuses to God at the burning bush, I learned that I don’t need all the answers. God will provide them when I need them. I need to stop being worried about what might happen and take comfort in what God says will happen (Romans 8:28). God uses inadequate people (like me) simply because they are willing. I may not feel qualified or adequate, but God is, and He chooses to use me.
- Even though I may have come to a place in my life where I am totally committed to do what God asks of me, there may be hidden issues or unresolved sins that God still needs to work out. I need to be receptive to His prompting and willing to allow Him to work in me.
- The valleys of life often come after the mountains. I need to learn that the only place I can turn when I enter a valley is to God. The perfect framework for God to do His work is when the situation seems impossible to human standards and the people seem inadequate to human standards. God often brings us to the end of our resources so He can then prove Himself faithful.
- It is not getting rid of sins that makes me a Christian but rather the life of Christ within me. I need to examine myself to find evidence that the Holy Spirit is within me. These evidences are that I have a hunger to know Jesus Christ better, that I have a desire to be like Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is working through me through an eagerness to be useful.
- Victory has no meaning except in battle and therefore I need to be aware that there is still a spiritual battle today. But when Christ was raised from the dead, He was victorious over every enemy that threatens to defeat me. This is the power of the Christian life. The purpose of the Christian life is to realise that every wave that threatens me over my head is still under Jesus’ feet. Though I will suffer, God is always in complete control. He gives me peace in the midst of the storm, not a quiet countryside peace because it is the storms that keep me dependent on Him. The Christian life is permanent. Just like the shadow of a bus will never squish me, the shadow of a dog will never bite me, and the shadow of a stick will never hurt me, the shadow of death will never kill me!
- The greatest struggle is not understanding God’s will, but obeying and yet when I respond in that God has His best in store for me. And it is obedience that develops the kind of faith that allowed the Israelites to pack up and leave Egypt not knowing what they would eat or where they would sleep. When I walk in obedience to God, there will be testing, but God will provide. And just like God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, He will provide abundantly.
- From the Passover, I learnt that God the judge and God the saviour are one and the same. Salvation was and is by substitution. In the same way as the lamb’s blood could not simply be shed, it had to be appropriated by sprinkling it on the doorposts, I need to appropriate the blood of Christ. My life, which has been purchased by God, now belongs to God just as the life of each firstborn Israelite belonged to God.
- When I reach the end of my rope, God wants me to let go and trust Him because He is fighting for me. I need to not be afraid, I need to stand still, I need to watch God come through, and I need to stop talking (telling others about my problems).
- If I am not living by faith, I am living by sin (Romans 14:3). Faith is an attitude of trust in an object that allows the object to work on my behalf therefore, the evidence of my faith is not what I do for the object but what I allow the object to do for me. I can no more live the Christian life by works that I can be saved by works. Instead of trying to do things for Christ, I need to allow Christ to live through me. I need to not commit myself to doing God’s will but instead commit myself to God. Obedience without faith produces legalism and faith without obedience produces mysticism, it is only with faith and obedience that I can fly.
Character doesn’t matter half as much as trust. I can be a good person but utterly useless to God but I can be a messed up person and useful to God. I need to remember that God is not only a God of heaven above but also, and most importantly, a God of Earth below. He is active and moving now, here. I need to stop doubting the Christ is sufficient. God uses messed up people. In fact, Rahab the prostitute was in the line of David and therefore in the line of Jesus! This does not so much show the ancestry of the King but the character of the kingdom!
My new study Bible came in this week! I’m so excited! It has already proved useful in helping to prepare for my Bible study.
On Tuesday, we had our second to last day with Bible in Schools since ministries are wrapping up next week for the Kiwi summer holidays. I will miss my wonderful group of students! They are such great listeners and participators and so enthusiastic! After the Christmas break, we will be assigned to a new ministry to give us a wide variety of experiences. Our Tuesday evening classes were held outside on the grass (on a spontaneous suggestion from Ian). We sat or lay on blankets or sat on lawn chairs. It was really neat! Although it was kind of weird to have Cam writing on my foot during the lectures...
For workday, I polished all the wood on the stairwell and dusted all the light fixtures. It was really fun (as usual :P)!!! For desert on Wednesday, we got apple pie!!! Yay!! Also, after a request from the student body, we are now getting fruit much more often which is kind of exciting.
Caution, this next paragraph may be extremely random and unconprehensible.
Our student council (that is Ben and Amber) organised a wacky game during supper on Wednesday. Basically, we were each given a task that we had to do during the entire meal but we weren’t allowed to tell anyone else what our task was. I had to stand up and clap each time someone poured themselves a glass of water. There were others like, each time Isabelle laughed, Jordan had to pass Dale a napkin. Each time someone passed Dale a napkin, Patti had to throw salt at Bryan. Each time someone threw salt at Bryan, He had to get up and say “Would you like some pepper with that Mrs. Epp?” Another one was that each time a staff member got up, Cara had to put vegetables in their water. Whenever Michael do the chicken dance, Ben had to get up and run around the table yelling “I can fly!” Michael had to do the chicken dance whenever Jonas sang “J and J awesome fitness club.” Jonas had to sing the fitness club theme song whenever anyone clapped (once Joel caught on, he would clap super often). And Dale had to get up and go around the table playing duck, duck goose whenever Joel got up and said “How was workday Joseph?”. Joel would say this whenever Sheryl gave a teaspoon to Dale. Sheryl gave a teaspoon to Dale whenever Amber said “Funny joke guys, funny joke!” Amber said that whenever Jordan gave a high five to anyone. Jordan gave a high five to any of the staff whenever they used a knife. This made for a really noisy, funny meal with lots of laughter and running around.
Last Saturday, I had booked a car online and they were supposed to e-mail us the confirmation within 24 hours. Unfortunately, I must have typed in the e-mail address wrong because we never got the e-mail and when we called on Wednesday, they said they had no cars available. After calling another rental place and finding out that we couldn’t drive unless we were over 21 yrs old, we were starting to freak out that we would not be able to make it to Akaroa (and our hostels were already booked!). But God provided a car! When Hanna found out that we still didn’t have a car, she told us that this past Sunday a lady at church had offered to lend her car to any students who needed it. It was so cool how God worked everything out!
Thursday, after a really good class form Ian and a very thought provoking DVD lecture from Charles Price, we all headed out for travel weekend. One group headed for Queens town for bungee jumping, luge rides and shopping (the bungee jumping didn’t happen though because of bad weather), Adam headed for Mount Cook, Michael left for Christchurch, and I headed with a group for Akaroa. In my group were Cam, Cara, Bryan, Jordan, Colin, Robert, and Stephen (Bryan’s friend). I bought all my groceries before hand which turned out to be a good idea and al lot cheaper than buying stuff in Akaroa. Basically, I had Pb & J sandwiches for lunches and suppers and I had left over porridge from the crossing for breakfast.
On the bus ride to Christchurch, Michael was trying to explain to the lady beside him what a dear look like (she had never seen one before). Jordan tried to help by stating “It’s like a big dog with antlers.” Every one cracked up (even some people three rows down!).
Driving to and from Akaroa was interesting. The road was super windy and narrow and steep and there are no guardrails and Stephen likes to drive fast. We took the bus to Christchurch and then we drove two cars the rest of the way to Akaroa (praise God for providing a car!). We got lost trying to find the hostel and ended up driving up this super steep, one lane road to a dead end. We weren’t sure if we were supposed to hike up to the hostel. We had to take a break at the end of the road though because the borrowed car was smoking so we had to let is cool. On our way back down (which was almost as scary as the way up), we stopped at a resort to get directions and almost hit the resident peacock. Finally, we found the hostel (it turned out that I was right when I suggested which way we should go :P). It is the highest hostel in New Zealand and is located on the side of the volcano looking out towards Otanerito bay (or long bay). It was a really nice place and we had the whole place to ourselves! The girls’ room was nicknamed the ‘hobbit’ room because you can’t stand up straight in it and the door was only about shoulder height. It was really cool! The view from the hostel was amazing!
On Friday morning, after sleeping in (yay!) we watched a storm literally roll in over the ocean. It was moving so fast! We stood outside and watched it until it was over us and behind us. It hailed for most of the morning. Some of the gang headed into town for some exploring while some of us stayed behind just to relax. In the afternoon, once the sun came out, we went for a drive intending to go for a hike. We decided to explore and turned down a road into a beautiful lush valley. The one lane, gravel road – once again, twisting and turning wildly around cliffs on one side with a steep drop off on the other side and without a guardrail – led down to a private property. Once we got permission from the people there, we drove through a field down to an aqua blue bay boarded by huge cliffs. We all took off our shoes and ran around on the warm sand, collected shells, and climbed the smaller of the cliffs. From the top of the cliff, we could see seals swimming around in the water. And the boys got way too close to a seal on the beach: it started hissing at them! I even found a complete Paua shell! Afterwards, we drove down to long bay valley and went on a tramp to a beautiful waterfall. It was really steep but we got some really nice views.
Friday night, we watched LOTR. It was sooooooo funny listening to everyone make fun of it! The best was laughing at Legolas running, stopping to make a random comment, then starting to run again. Once it was pointed out to me, it was quite comical. The funniest quote was when Golum says to Sam "Stupid, fat hobbit!"
On Saturday morning, we all woke up at 5am and drove out to the farthest point and watched the sun rise over the ocean. It was beautiful!!! And it was rather cold :P. Afterwards, most of us went back to bed.
At 10:30, we headed into Akaroa for some sea kayaking. The owner of the hostel gave us a deal on the kayaks! We had three double kayaks and two singles. We went out from the bay all the way to the peninsula and part of the way around. Once we came around the peak of the peninsula, we were paddling against the wind. I was so glad that we had all rented wet suits! They were really tight and restricting but they really kept us warm. We paddled through pretty choppy waves. It was tough but so much fun! We stopped at a “beach” and climbed on the rocks to a cave like thing. The waves were hitting the back and making thundering noises, it was really cool! On the beach, you could hear the pebbles tumbling with each wave. Stephen (whom I was sharing kayak with) and I also got out to climb in another rock formation. We think we saw penguins but we weren’t sure. We also saw a jelly fish swimming right beside out kayak! The rock formations were really cool since it was all volcanic. We stopped and talked to some guys who were scuba diving for Paua shells. On our way back to Akaroa, we stopped at the same beach for lunch. A couple of us kayaked to a dock and Jordan and Stephen went swimming and did flips off the dock.
For supper, the owners of the hostel provided a barbeque (for an extra fee). I didn’t have any but they let me try some Paua meat. It was very strange.
On Sunday, we had to wake up early because we had to be out of the hostel by 7am so that we could be in Christchurch in time to catch our bus. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up when booking the bus and our ticked was booked for next Sunday. Stephen offered to drive us back to Geraldine. When we got back, we had to wash off the car we borrowed since it was super muddy from driving on dirt roads and through fields.
- God’s law always comes before man’s law as was exemplified in Exodus when the midwives, because they feared God, did not kill the male children of the Hebrews as Pharaoh had commanded. This shows that God uses people not because of their ability but because of their availability.
- Had Moses been confident he was in the will of God, he would not have had to look over his shoulder before murdering the Egyptian. He was seeking to please people, not God. In the same way, I have to “be still and know that He is God,” stop worrying and taking matters into my own hands and trust that God will bring about His will in His time. If I do not go God’s way and in God’s time, it is worth nothing and can only lead to failure and wandering in the desert.
- From Moses’ attempt at leadership, I can learn that all my goals need to be drowned in prayer. I need to take time to slow down and listen to what God is saying through His word, through circumstances, and through other older mature Christians. God will lead me, one step at a time. When I am in the centre of God’s will, His plan will flow.
- I can be temped to see people who seem to be burning bushes – on fire and filled with God – and be jealous of them and then resign myself to be a ‘burnt up bush,’ a heap of ashes, or just a spectator, watching others live totally for God. But I need to realize that I am what I am by the grace of God and that it is the living Christ who works in me to accomplish His will. I need to remember that I am nothing except with Christ. God is the eternal I AM, He is adequate right now! What I have is what He is: He does not give me strength, He is my strength; He does not give me victory, He is my victory.
- When I find myself in life’s deserts, God does four things: He finds me, He shields me, He cares for me, and He guides me. He does all this whether I believe Him or not. The purpose of these deserts is to humble and test me so that the true condition of my heart may be revealed.
- From Moses’ excuses to God at the burning bush, I learned that I don’t need all the answers. God will provide them when I need them. I need to stop being worried about what might happen and take comfort in what God says will happen (Romans 8:28). God uses inadequate people (like me) simply because they are willing. I may not feel qualified or adequate, but God is, and He chooses to use me.
- Even though I may have come to a place in my life where I am totally committed to do what God asks of me, there may be hidden issues or unresolved sins that God still needs to work out. I need to be receptive to His prompting and willing to allow Him to work in me.
- The valleys of life often come after the mountains. I need to learn that the only place I can turn when I enter a valley is to God. The perfect framework for God to do His work is when the situation seems impossible to human standards and the people seem inadequate to human standards. God often brings us to the end of our resources so He can then prove Himself faithful.
- It is not getting rid of sins that makes me a Christian but rather the life of Christ within me. I need to examine myself to find evidence that the Holy Spirit is within me. These evidences are that I have a hunger to know Jesus Christ better, that I have a desire to be like Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is working through me through an eagerness to be useful.
- Victory has no meaning except in battle and therefore I need to be aware that there is still a spiritual battle today. But when Christ was raised from the dead, He was victorious over every enemy that threatens to defeat me. This is the power of the Christian life. The purpose of the Christian life is to realise that every wave that threatens me over my head is still under Jesus’ feet. Though I will suffer, God is always in complete control. He gives me peace in the midst of the storm, not a quiet countryside peace because it is the storms that keep me dependent on Him. The Christian life is permanent. Just like the shadow of a bus will never squish me, the shadow of a dog will never bite me, and the shadow of a stick will never hurt me, the shadow of death will never kill me!
- The greatest struggle is not understanding God’s will, but obeying and yet when I respond in that God has His best in store for me. And it is obedience that develops the kind of faith that allowed the Israelites to pack up and leave Egypt not knowing what they would eat or where they would sleep. When I walk in obedience to God, there will be testing, but God will provide. And just like God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, He will provide abundantly.
- From the Passover, I learnt that God the judge and God the saviour are one and the same. Salvation was and is by substitution. In the same way as the lamb’s blood could not simply be shed, it had to be appropriated by sprinkling it on the doorposts, I need to appropriate the blood of Christ. My life, which has been purchased by God, now belongs to God just as the life of each firstborn Israelite belonged to God.
- When I reach the end of my rope, God wants me to let go and trust Him because He is fighting for me. I need to not be afraid, I need to stand still, I need to watch God come through, and I need to stop talking (telling others about my problems).
- If I am not living by faith, I am living by sin (Romans 14:3). Faith is an attitude of trust in an object that allows the object to work on my behalf therefore, the evidence of my faith is not what I do for the object but what I allow the object to do for me. I can no more live the Christian life by works that I can be saved by works. Instead of trying to do things for Christ, I need to allow Christ to live through me. I need to not commit myself to doing God’s will but instead commit myself to God. Obedience without faith produces legalism and faith without obedience produces mysticism, it is only with faith and obedience that I can fly.
Character doesn’t matter half as much as trust. I can be a good person but utterly useless to God but I can be a messed up person and useful to God. I need to remember that God is not only a God of heaven above but also, and most importantly, a God of Earth below. He is active and moving now, here. I need to stop doubting the Christ is sufficient. God uses messed up people. In fact, Rahab the prostitute was in the line of David and therefore in the line of Jesus! This does not so much show the ancestry of the King but the character of the kingdom!
My new study Bible came in this week! I’m so excited! It has already proved useful in helping to prepare for my Bible study.
On Tuesday, we had our second to last day with Bible in Schools since ministries are wrapping up next week for the Kiwi summer holidays. I will miss my wonderful group of students! They are such great listeners and participators and so enthusiastic! After the Christmas break, we will be assigned to a new ministry to give us a wide variety of experiences. Our Tuesday evening classes were held outside on the grass (on a spontaneous suggestion from Ian). We sat or lay on blankets or sat on lawn chairs. It was really neat! Although it was kind of weird to have Cam writing on my foot during the lectures...
For workday, I polished all the wood on the stairwell and dusted all the light fixtures. It was really fun (as usual :P)!!! For desert on Wednesday, we got apple pie!!! Yay!! Also, after a request from the student body, we are now getting fruit much more often which is kind of exciting.
Caution, this next paragraph may be extremely random and unconprehensible.
Our student council (that is Ben and Amber) organised a wacky game during supper on Wednesday. Basically, we were each given a task that we had to do during the entire meal but we weren’t allowed to tell anyone else what our task was. I had to stand up and clap each time someone poured themselves a glass of water. There were others like, each time Isabelle laughed, Jordan had to pass Dale a napkin. Each time someone passed Dale a napkin, Patti had to throw salt at Bryan. Each time someone threw salt at Bryan, He had to get up and say “Would you like some pepper with that Mrs. Epp?” Another one was that each time a staff member got up, Cara had to put vegetables in their water. Whenever Michael do the chicken dance, Ben had to get up and run around the table yelling “I can fly!” Michael had to do the chicken dance whenever Jonas sang “J and J awesome fitness club.” Jonas had to sing the fitness club theme song whenever anyone clapped (once Joel caught on, he would clap super often). And Dale had to get up and go around the table playing duck, duck goose whenever Joel got up and said “How was workday Joseph?”. Joel would say this whenever Sheryl gave a teaspoon to Dale. Sheryl gave a teaspoon to Dale whenever Amber said “Funny joke guys, funny joke!” Amber said that whenever Jordan gave a high five to anyone. Jordan gave a high five to any of the staff whenever they used a knife. This made for a really noisy, funny meal with lots of laughter and running around.
Last Saturday, I had booked a car online and they were supposed to e-mail us the confirmation within 24 hours. Unfortunately, I must have typed in the e-mail address wrong because we never got the e-mail and when we called on Wednesday, they said they had no cars available. After calling another rental place and finding out that we couldn’t drive unless we were over 21 yrs old, we were starting to freak out that we would not be able to make it to Akaroa (and our hostels were already booked!). But God provided a car! When Hanna found out that we still didn’t have a car, she told us that this past Sunday a lady at church had offered to lend her car to any students who needed it. It was so cool how God worked everything out!
Thursday, after a really good class form Ian and a very thought provoking DVD lecture from Charles Price, we all headed out for travel weekend. One group headed for Queens town for bungee jumping, luge rides and shopping (the bungee jumping didn’t happen though because of bad weather), Adam headed for Mount Cook, Michael left for Christchurch, and I headed with a group for Akaroa. In my group were Cam, Cara, Bryan, Jordan, Colin, Robert, and Stephen (Bryan’s friend). I bought all my groceries before hand which turned out to be a good idea and al lot cheaper than buying stuff in Akaroa. Basically, I had Pb & J sandwiches for lunches and suppers and I had left over porridge from the crossing for breakfast.
On the bus ride to Christchurch, Michael was trying to explain to the lady beside him what a dear look like (she had never seen one before). Jordan tried to help by stating “It’s like a big dog with antlers.” Every one cracked up (even some people three rows down!).
Driving to and from Akaroa was interesting. The road was super windy and narrow and steep and there are no guardrails and Stephen likes to drive fast. We took the bus to Christchurch and then we drove two cars the rest of the way to Akaroa (praise God for providing a car!). We got lost trying to find the hostel and ended up driving up this super steep, one lane road to a dead end. We weren’t sure if we were supposed to hike up to the hostel. We had to take a break at the end of the road though because the borrowed car was smoking so we had to let is cool. On our way back down (which was almost as scary as the way up), we stopped at a resort to get directions and almost hit the resident peacock. Finally, we found the hostel (it turned out that I was right when I suggested which way we should go :P). It is the highest hostel in New Zealand and is located on the side of the volcano looking out towards Otanerito bay (or long bay). It was a really nice place and we had the whole place to ourselves! The girls’ room was nicknamed the ‘hobbit’ room because you can’t stand up straight in it and the door was only about shoulder height. It was really cool! The view from the hostel was amazing!
On Friday morning, after sleeping in (yay!) we watched a storm literally roll in over the ocean. It was moving so fast! We stood outside and watched it until it was over us and behind us. It hailed for most of the morning. Some of the gang headed into town for some exploring while some of us stayed behind just to relax. In the afternoon, once the sun came out, we went for a drive intending to go for a hike. We decided to explore and turned down a road into a beautiful lush valley. The one lane, gravel road – once again, twisting and turning wildly around cliffs on one side with a steep drop off on the other side and without a guardrail – led down to a private property. Once we got permission from the people there, we drove through a field down to an aqua blue bay boarded by huge cliffs. We all took off our shoes and ran around on the warm sand, collected shells, and climbed the smaller of the cliffs. From the top of the cliff, we could see seals swimming around in the water. And the boys got way too close to a seal on the beach: it started hissing at them! I even found a complete Paua shell! Afterwards, we drove down to long bay valley and went on a tramp to a beautiful waterfall. It was really steep but we got some really nice views.
Friday night, we watched LOTR. It was sooooooo funny listening to everyone make fun of it! The best was laughing at Legolas running, stopping to make a random comment, then starting to run again. Once it was pointed out to me, it was quite comical. The funniest quote was when Golum says to Sam "Stupid, fat hobbit!"
On Saturday morning, we all woke up at 5am and drove out to the farthest point and watched the sun rise over the ocean. It was beautiful!!! And it was rather cold :P. Afterwards, most of us went back to bed.
At 10:30, we headed into Akaroa for some sea kayaking. The owner of the hostel gave us a deal on the kayaks! We had three double kayaks and two singles. We went out from the bay all the way to the peninsula and part of the way around. Once we came around the peak of the peninsula, we were paddling against the wind. I was so glad that we had all rented wet suits! They were really tight and restricting but they really kept us warm. We paddled through pretty choppy waves. It was tough but so much fun! We stopped at a “beach” and climbed on the rocks to a cave like thing. The waves were hitting the back and making thundering noises, it was really cool! On the beach, you could hear the pebbles tumbling with each wave. Stephen (whom I was sharing kayak with) and I also got out to climb in another rock formation. We think we saw penguins but we weren’t sure. We also saw a jelly fish swimming right beside out kayak! The rock formations were really cool since it was all volcanic. We stopped and talked to some guys who were scuba diving for Paua shells. On our way back to Akaroa, we stopped at the same beach for lunch. A couple of us kayaked to a dock and Jordan and Stephen went swimming and did flips off the dock.
For supper, the owners of the hostel provided a barbeque (for an extra fee). I didn’t have any but they let me try some Paua meat. It was very strange.
On Sunday, we had to wake up early because we had to be out of the hostel by 7am so that we could be in Christchurch in time to catch our bus. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up when booking the bus and our ticked was booked for next Sunday. Stephen offered to drive us back to Geraldine. When we got back, we had to wash off the car we borrowed since it was super muddy from driving on dirt roads and through fields.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Week 7
This week, Hayden taught us how to make a Bible study and Werner came in for the second half of the week to teach on Ephesians. Here is this week’s journal entry:
- It is of the utmost importance that I learn to learn from the Bible myself. In creating Bible studies, I will learn to “catch my own food” instead of always relying on others to feed me. In this way, I will be able to grow spiritually, to critique the scriptures, to challenge my faith, and to connect with the word of God.
- Through the law, I need to die to the law. Only Jesus Christ gives me this ability. The law of God reveals the characteristics of God (which are His glory). The problem with the law is not its content but its ability: it cannot change the heart. But, with Christ living in me, the law becomes not a command, but a promise!
- Because I have been made one with Christ, I have been crucified with Him. It was not only Christ on the cross, but me as well because Christ and I are one. Therefore, I HAVE BEEN (past tense) crucified with Christ. It is not something I need to try to accomplish (or something I can accomplish) as I had previously believed, but it is something that has already been done. When I come to God for forgiveness, I am not appealing to His mercy but His justice! Having sentenced the Son, He cannot sentence me!
- I have died to sin. This is not to say that sin does not affect me or tempt me, rather, the price for the sin – the “jail sentence” – has been paid in full. Since death is the consequence of sin and I have died with Christ, I have, in fact, died to sin. I no longer owe sin anything. Therefore, I need to allow Christ to use my body as an instrument of righteousness rather than letting sin use me as an instrument of wickedness. I cannot counter sin by legalism or licence, but rather by the life of Christ in me and this life does not come from trying but from trusting.
- I need to be in Christ here on earth in order to be in Him for eternity. Death is not so much a way to become closer to God as a change of scenery.
- In Ephesians, Paul calls the church to unity, and this unity can only be found in Christ. And it is Christ’s love that creates unity. The words “In Christ” or “In Him” appear 22 times in the first two chapters of Ephesians. This is because Paul is trying to emphasize that it is only in Christ that we have anything: spiritual gifts, power, everlasting life, etc. These gifts are not separate from Christ, but rather an integral part of Him.
- As a Christian, I need to speak the truth. My acts of service are worth nothing if I am not proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. It is not a religious retreat that will convert someone but rather when God touches their heart.
This week started off rather meh since I was pretty low on sleep, but after a good talk with Hanna and Sheryl, I started feeling better. God is really teaching me to totally rely on Him, not on my own intellect. He has been slowly pushing me to stop worrying about the future and trust that He will provide and that He will make His will known and direct me.
Tuesday evening was family night. My group stayed at the crossing with Hanna, Sheryl, and Joseph. We played volleyball which ended up being tons of fun! And our team won (although this may be because there were five people on our team and only four on the other)! Afterwards, we played a few rounds of very competitive balderdash then we went down to the fire pit for a campfire with hot chocolate.
On workday, I was in the kitchen with Sheryl, cleaning every single nook and cranny. After cleaning out the fridge, Sheryl was going to compost the leftover fruit pizza, but instead, she said I could eat it so I have had some delicious snacks this week!
I spent most of my free time on Wednesday and Thursday working on my Bible study (the rough draft was due Friday). This one is on 2Timothy 1:8-12. The good copy is due next Thursday, right before we leave for travel weekend. It’s hard work, but I think it will be really rewarding in the long run being able to get something from the Bible for myself.
On Friday night, we had a semi-spontaneous girl’s night. Patti had a Mary Kay lady come over and so most of us splurged and bought cosmetics. Patti made delicious chocolate covered penut butter balls and we snacked on them and cheese and crackers throughout the evening. Afterwards, we watched a movie. Being over tired, I only watched the first twenty minutes before going to bed. All the girls slept over at the Epp’s, it was tons of fun! For breakfast, Patti made us baked French toast. It was absolutely scrumptious! And we also got fruit with breakfast which was a treat!
From 9am to 12pm, A bunch of us went to help out a family that is having a tough time (I’m not sure exactly what the situation is). We mowed their lawn, weeded their garden, fixed up their path, and generally cleaned up their front yard. There were probably about eight Capernwray students and a bunch of people from the local church. It was really fun and the transformation of the yard was amazing! Afterwards, another lady from the church served a barbeque at her house (which Patti and a few others had helped to prepare) for the people who helped out.
While the girls were getting beauty treatment advice, the guys were mud wrestling. Colin and Joseph dug up the pit in the afternoon with the tractor. Apparently, they had fun. But the girls have agreed that we want to mud wrestle and go possum hunting and drive a beat-up car around a dirt track and do all the other stuff that the guys get to do during guy nights!
The rest of the Crossing students had a slip-and-slide set up after lunch right up the street from the Epp’s. The tarps were set up on the grass on the side of a really steep one lane street and the boys were carrying large jugs of soapy water up from the Epp’s to keep the slide wet. It was the fastest slip-and-slide I have ever been on! The guys were having fun “ganging up” on people. Basically, if they felt someone was going too slow, they would run and slide down after them and take them out on their way down. It was really funny (and slightly painful :P).
During the afternoon, I did something I have never done before: I booked a rental vehicle to take from Christchurch to Akaroa for travel weekend. It was rather stressful, but in the end, I found a decent deal. Colin, Cara, Cameron, Brian, Steven (Brian’s friend), Jordan, Robert, and I are heading out to Akaroa from Thursday of next week till Sunday morning. We only have one definite activity planned: sea-kayaking. It should be tons of fun! For Saturday supper, Amber and Colin cooked a supper of baked mac and cheese (yay!) and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Sunday morning, after setting up for breakfast for the last time (duty rotations are on Monday), Jordan, Adam, and I walked into Geraldine to go to the first service at the local church (that is, the traditional service). I then stayed for the first half of the second service (the contemporary service), but left half way through to get some assigned Bible reading done. This was my second time attending the traditional service and I am really enjoying it! I have met some wonderful people and have been invited to one ladies house for lunch after the service in two weeks! I spent Sunday afternoon writing a letter to Penny (my co-counsellor from Te Mapua). I really need to start writing more letters! But time seems rather scarce with all the projects, assignments, classes, and activities we have.
On Sunday evening, Kris Banes (the guy who taught on Colossians and Jonah) came to the Crossing to perform a concert (it was open to the community. So in the afternoon, we cleaned up the formal loungs and set up chairs and vacuumed and set up candles and stuff. The concert was awesome! Basically, he played solo piano. He played a bunch of hymns and talked about the stories behind them. It was beautiful and relaxing!
- It is of the utmost importance that I learn to learn from the Bible myself. In creating Bible studies, I will learn to “catch my own food” instead of always relying on others to feed me. In this way, I will be able to grow spiritually, to critique the scriptures, to challenge my faith, and to connect with the word of God.
- Through the law, I need to die to the law. Only Jesus Christ gives me this ability. The law of God reveals the characteristics of God (which are His glory). The problem with the law is not its content but its ability: it cannot change the heart. But, with Christ living in me, the law becomes not a command, but a promise!
- Because I have been made one with Christ, I have been crucified with Him. It was not only Christ on the cross, but me as well because Christ and I are one. Therefore, I HAVE BEEN (past tense) crucified with Christ. It is not something I need to try to accomplish (or something I can accomplish) as I had previously believed, but it is something that has already been done. When I come to God for forgiveness, I am not appealing to His mercy but His justice! Having sentenced the Son, He cannot sentence me!
- I have died to sin. This is not to say that sin does not affect me or tempt me, rather, the price for the sin – the “jail sentence” – has been paid in full. Since death is the consequence of sin and I have died with Christ, I have, in fact, died to sin. I no longer owe sin anything. Therefore, I need to allow Christ to use my body as an instrument of righteousness rather than letting sin use me as an instrument of wickedness. I cannot counter sin by legalism or licence, but rather by the life of Christ in me and this life does not come from trying but from trusting.
- I need to be in Christ here on earth in order to be in Him for eternity. Death is not so much a way to become closer to God as a change of scenery.
- In Ephesians, Paul calls the church to unity, and this unity can only be found in Christ. And it is Christ’s love that creates unity. The words “In Christ” or “In Him” appear 22 times in the first two chapters of Ephesians. This is because Paul is trying to emphasize that it is only in Christ that we have anything: spiritual gifts, power, everlasting life, etc. These gifts are not separate from Christ, but rather an integral part of Him.
- As a Christian, I need to speak the truth. My acts of service are worth nothing if I am not proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. It is not a religious retreat that will convert someone but rather when God touches their heart.
This week started off rather meh since I was pretty low on sleep, but after a good talk with Hanna and Sheryl, I started feeling better. God is really teaching me to totally rely on Him, not on my own intellect. He has been slowly pushing me to stop worrying about the future and trust that He will provide and that He will make His will known and direct me.
Tuesday evening was family night. My group stayed at the crossing with Hanna, Sheryl, and Joseph. We played volleyball which ended up being tons of fun! And our team won (although this may be because there were five people on our team and only four on the other)! Afterwards, we played a few rounds of very competitive balderdash then we went down to the fire pit for a campfire with hot chocolate.
On workday, I was in the kitchen with Sheryl, cleaning every single nook and cranny. After cleaning out the fridge, Sheryl was going to compost the leftover fruit pizza, but instead, she said I could eat it so I have had some delicious snacks this week!
I spent most of my free time on Wednesday and Thursday working on my Bible study (the rough draft was due Friday). This one is on 2Timothy 1:8-12. The good copy is due next Thursday, right before we leave for travel weekend. It’s hard work, but I think it will be really rewarding in the long run being able to get something from the Bible for myself.
On Friday night, we had a semi-spontaneous girl’s night. Patti had a Mary Kay lady come over and so most of us splurged and bought cosmetics. Patti made delicious chocolate covered penut butter balls and we snacked on them and cheese and crackers throughout the evening. Afterwards, we watched a movie. Being over tired, I only watched the first twenty minutes before going to bed. All the girls slept over at the Epp’s, it was tons of fun! For breakfast, Patti made us baked French toast. It was absolutely scrumptious! And we also got fruit with breakfast which was a treat!
From 9am to 12pm, A bunch of us went to help out a family that is having a tough time (I’m not sure exactly what the situation is). We mowed their lawn, weeded their garden, fixed up their path, and generally cleaned up their front yard. There were probably about eight Capernwray students and a bunch of people from the local church. It was really fun and the transformation of the yard was amazing! Afterwards, another lady from the church served a barbeque at her house (which Patti and a few others had helped to prepare) for the people who helped out.
While the girls were getting beauty treatment advice, the guys were mud wrestling. Colin and Joseph dug up the pit in the afternoon with the tractor. Apparently, they had fun. But the girls have agreed that we want to mud wrestle and go possum hunting and drive a beat-up car around a dirt track and do all the other stuff that the guys get to do during guy nights!
The rest of the Crossing students had a slip-and-slide set up after lunch right up the street from the Epp’s. The tarps were set up on the grass on the side of a really steep one lane street and the boys were carrying large jugs of soapy water up from the Epp’s to keep the slide wet. It was the fastest slip-and-slide I have ever been on! The guys were having fun “ganging up” on people. Basically, if they felt someone was going too slow, they would run and slide down after them and take them out on their way down. It was really funny (and slightly painful :P).
During the afternoon, I did something I have never done before: I booked a rental vehicle to take from Christchurch to Akaroa for travel weekend. It was rather stressful, but in the end, I found a decent deal. Colin, Cara, Cameron, Brian, Steven (Brian’s friend), Jordan, Robert, and I are heading out to Akaroa from Thursday of next week till Sunday morning. We only have one definite activity planned: sea-kayaking. It should be tons of fun! For Saturday supper, Amber and Colin cooked a supper of baked mac and cheese (yay!) and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Sunday morning, after setting up for breakfast for the last time (duty rotations are on Monday), Jordan, Adam, and I walked into Geraldine to go to the first service at the local church (that is, the traditional service). I then stayed for the first half of the second service (the contemporary service), but left half way through to get some assigned Bible reading done. This was my second time attending the traditional service and I am really enjoying it! I have met some wonderful people and have been invited to one ladies house for lunch after the service in two weeks! I spent Sunday afternoon writing a letter to Penny (my co-counsellor from Te Mapua). I really need to start writing more letters! But time seems rather scarce with all the projects, assignments, classes, and activities we have.
On Sunday evening, Kris Banes (the guy who taught on Colossians and Jonah) came to the Crossing to perform a concert (it was open to the community. So in the afternoon, we cleaned up the formal loungs and set up chairs and vacuumed and set up candles and stuff. The concert was awesome! Basically, he played solo piano. He played a bunch of hymns and talked about the stories behind them. It was beautiful and relaxing!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday devotion
Every Wednesday, a student is assigned to share a devotion during morning tea. Today (Wednesday) it was my turn to share. Basically, I was asked to share what God has been teaching me lately through His word and through the various classes we have been having. Here is what I talked about. I have not written out all the passages (although I did read them during the devotion) and so I would encourage you to look them up as that will make it all make more sense.
This week, I was reading Mathew and a passage in chapter 8 really stood out to me. Verses 5-10 and 13 really show the awesome power of prayer. Just as God spoke the light into existence, so can He give the answer to a prayer just by saying the word. There is a brilliant description of the power of the voice of God in Psalm 29. Also, Isaiah 55:10-22 really shows the power of God’s word. We bring our petitions to Jesus who is sovereign and if He tells His angels to go, they go. If He tells the stars to shine or the land to produce vegetation, it will be as He commanded. In the same way, any request we bring before the Lord that is within His will, He will answer. It is not a question of His capability because all He has to do is say the word! All thins are of God and therefore belong to Him and so He has the authority to move mountains in order to bring about His will. Mathew 8:5-10, 13 really spoke to me because it made me realise that when I ask God to bring about His will in my life, I can thank Him at the same time because I know that He has already said the word to put things into motion to accomplish it. It is when I come to God in complete faith of what He can and is doing that He is most pleased.
And so I want to pray like David in Psalm 25: “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.” “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.” One thing that Kris taught that really spoke to me was on this topic. He said that God will always answer the prayer that is prayed according to His will. God has been teaching me that I need to let go of the worry I have for my future and totally trust in Him because His plans are far greater than mine and His will is far better than mine.
Therefore, there is tremendous power in prayer and God is delighted to answer the prayer that is prayed according to His will.
I went on a run yesterday (and I don’t run!) and so today I hurt. But I realised that running is a good example of how I need to trust God. Running has always been hard for me. It doesn’t take long before I am out of breath and ready to give up. And so that’s when I stop running and start walking. But after a while, I realized yesterday that I could start running again.
Trusting in God is hard! I keep wanting to give up and deal with issues in my life and so I stop running and start walking. But God gives me the strength to start running again, trusting that He will provide the strength I need.
Running hurts because it is stretching my muscles and my lungs further that what is comfortable. In the same way, it’s not always comfortable as God stretches me, teaching me to fully trust Him.
As I learned recently in a passage in Mathew 19, I need to give up everything and put Christ first before everything and follow Him. But it won’t be easy. I found tremendous comfort in verse 26 where Jesus says that it is actually impossible for any man to do this, but with Him, all things are possible! And so I can keep running, in faith, trusting that He will provide the strength I need.
To conclude, Psalm 20:7 says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
This week, I was reading Mathew and a passage in chapter 8 really stood out to me. Verses 5-10 and 13 really show the awesome power of prayer. Just as God spoke the light into existence, so can He give the answer to a prayer just by saying the word. There is a brilliant description of the power of the voice of God in Psalm 29. Also, Isaiah 55:10-22 really shows the power of God’s word. We bring our petitions to Jesus who is sovereign and if He tells His angels to go, they go. If He tells the stars to shine or the land to produce vegetation, it will be as He commanded. In the same way, any request we bring before the Lord that is within His will, He will answer. It is not a question of His capability because all He has to do is say the word! All thins are of God and therefore belong to Him and so He has the authority to move mountains in order to bring about His will. Mathew 8:5-10, 13 really spoke to me because it made me realise that when I ask God to bring about His will in my life, I can thank Him at the same time because I know that He has already said the word to put things into motion to accomplish it. It is when I come to God in complete faith of what He can and is doing that He is most pleased.
And so I want to pray like David in Psalm 25: “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.” “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.” One thing that Kris taught that really spoke to me was on this topic. He said that God will always answer the prayer that is prayed according to His will. God has been teaching me that I need to let go of the worry I have for my future and totally trust in Him because His plans are far greater than mine and His will is far better than mine.
Therefore, there is tremendous power in prayer and God is delighted to answer the prayer that is prayed according to His will.
I went on a run yesterday (and I don’t run!) and so today I hurt. But I realised that running is a good example of how I need to trust God. Running has always been hard for me. It doesn’t take long before I am out of breath and ready to give up. And so that’s when I stop running and start walking. But after a while, I realized yesterday that I could start running again.
Trusting in God is hard! I keep wanting to give up and deal with issues in my life and so I stop running and start walking. But God gives me the strength to start running again, trusting that He will provide the strength I need.
Running hurts because it is stretching my muscles and my lungs further that what is comfortable. In the same way, it’s not always comfortable as God stretches me, teaching me to fully trust Him.
As I learned recently in a passage in Mathew 19, I need to give up everything and put Christ first before everything and follow Him. But it won’t be easy. I found tremendous comfort in verse 26 where Jesus says that it is actually impossible for any man to do this, but with Him, all things are possible! And so I can keep running, in faith, trusting that He will provide the strength I need.
To conclude, Psalm 20:7 says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Getting tired of rap?
For Robert's birthday today, Tripple J (which has sort of turned into double J) decided that they were getting tired or rap so they decided to sing instead. Ben played guitar and Joel sang (Ben also did "backup"). Here is Robert's birthday song:
Today I was looking at a green plant
It was so green...
But that has nothing to do with this song.
Today is one of those days
of the year
Because it's novermber 1st
The first day of November
The first day after October.
Rob you play geetar like nothing
And all the ladies think you're something
YOu have long hair.
And nice underwear, not that I was looking.
Rob this song is for you.
(Ben's solo)
This song is for today (x2)
Singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY (repeat many times)
Today I was looking at a green plant
It was so green...
But that has nothing to do with this song.
Today is one of those days
of the year
Because it's novermber 1st
The first day of November
The first day after October.
Rob you play geetar like nothing
And all the ladies think you're something
YOu have long hair.
And nice underwear, not that I was looking.
Rob this song is for you.
(Ben's solo)
This song is for today (x2)
Singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY (repeat many times)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Being
Here is a peom I wrote this week. I have published another poem on my poetry blog (www.angelathepoet.blogspot.com) called "Lost For Words." This next poem is called "Being."
Who, me?
I have died
To myself!
Am no longer!
After all
I am not,
But I know
I AM
Who me?
I can do nothing
Of myself!
Am incapable!
But can do all things
Through Christ
Who works through me!
And I know that since
He is I AM
I must be
I AM NOT
!
Who me?
I AM NOT!
And how freeing it is
To know
That I am no longer
That I am incapable
That I have died to myself
To know
That it is not what I give
(my life)
But what I receive
(His grace)
!
That it is not by my power
That I DO NOT DESERVE!
I am weak
And so His strength sustains me!
I am broken
And so His glory shines through the cracks!
Who, me?
I have died
To myself!
Am no longer!
After all
I am not,
But I know
I AM
Who me?
I can do nothing
Of myself!
Am incapable!
But can do all things
Through Christ
Who works through me!
And I know that since
He is I AM
I must be
I AM NOT
!
Who me?
I AM NOT!
And how freeing it is
To know
That I am no longer
That I am incapable
That I have died to myself
To know
That it is not what I give
(my life)
But what I receive
(His grace)
!
That it is not by my power
That I DO NOT DESERVE!
I am weak
And so His strength sustains me!
I am broken
And so His glory shines through the cracks!
Week 6
Kris Banes taught on Colossians and Jonah this week. He is a very good teacher. We also finished the video series on the life of Joseph. Here is my journal entry.
- All scripture is God-breathed, God worked in the author’s bodies in natural ways to produce supernatural results. For this reason, I need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of the scripture to me. In God, I will find my self-worth (but not my self-esteem as this is not productive in my walk with Christ), and the assurance of my salvation. In order not to be deceived by false teachings, I need to know my shepherd so that I recognise His voice. I need to spend time in His word and in prayer so that I will know Him so well that I will recognise any counterfeit. I need to have a premeditated plan as to how I will live out my faith and be kept accountable. This is especially important as I am going to university next year. I need to be careful not to get caught up in university life but make a plan ahead of time of how I will live out my faith.
- Mercy is not getting what I deserve; grace is getting what I don’t deserve. God doesn’t just shower me with mercy, He also offers me unimaginable grace! And it is only standing in God’s grace that I can find true peace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, so what are we getting.
- Colossians 1:9-12 presents the prayer that God will answer. This is not because it has the ‘magic’ words, but rather because it is prayed according to God’s will. Although God does on occasion answer by yes my prayers that are not of His will, it is in order to teach me. God has, however, a ‘best’ for me, and that is only in His will. For this reason, I want to walk totally in God’s will (although self tends to get in the way) because He works ALL things together for good (His good, not necessarily mine) and for His glory. Also, as I learned form the story of Shadrak, Meshach, and Abednego, it is better to be in the fire with Christ, than out of the fire without Christ. If God can hold the entire universe together, I need to ask myself if I trust Him to hold my life together.
- The only way I can walk in a way pleasing to God is if I walk in faith. In this way, once I have accepted Christ’s sacrifice as the precious gift of the cleansing of my sin, I can come into God’s presence, but He doesn’t see me, He sees the lamb who is without sin and He is smiling at me – an ear to ear smile!
- I have the same power as that that raised Christ from the dead sin because Christ lives in me. But it is a quiet power, a power that enables me to be humble, forgiving, longsuffering, and joyful.
- There is a danger that legalism will lead to pride and self righteousness in my life. I tend to be one to focus on the rules that need to be followed so I need to refocus and realise that ALL my sins, past and future, are nailed to the cross and I need to stop trying to take them down again. I need to de to my old self, and then I need to stop feeding my old self (with wrong images from the media) and start feeding the new self (with the word of God and fellowship with Him).
When I work, I need to work as for Christ, not for man. I need to work diligently, even when no on is watching.
On Monday, the Te Mapua staff came for lunch. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the word got out and we were all soooo excited (or at least I was :P)! I heard them come in while we were still in class and I was sitting there thinking “Hurry up Dale, I want to get out of class!” When we finally got out of class (:P) they were all in the living room and they had one of the praise songs playing and they were all dancing to it. It was really cool! For lunch, since it was raining, we spread out, some of us eating at the tables and others sitting on blankets on the living room floor. After lunch, we sang som of the songs and they taught us the action to “In the Light.” I was so excited to be ‘rocking out’ to the praise songs again! While talking to Miss Jai about the possibility of continuing to serve with Te Mapua, Miss Jai said that she went to one camp and she was addicted. It thought it was a really good description! Te Mapua has been on my mind ever since leaving. It is such an awesome ministry and I would love to serve with them again.
On Tuesday, we had our ministry (Bible in Schools). I think it went much better this time since we knew what we were doing. Basically, the government has allowed volunteers to go into schools and teach the Bible since there is no religious education. Officially, the school is closed down during the teaching time so that parents have the option of taking their children out of school if they don’t want them receiving the teaching. Ben, Cara, Bryan, and I are part of this ministry. Bryan and I are working with the equivalent to a kindergarten class. One of the reasons one of the teachers at this school is so open to the project is because most of the kids only know Jesus as a swear word. My prayer is that God will use us to plant a seed in the kids’ hearts and that we will be able to teach (without offending any parents or teachers) effectively and truthfully.
For workday, I cleaned the entire student lounge (which is our classroom). Once again, I really enjoyed workday!
Our Progress of Redemption project was due on Friday so everyone was scrambling to get theirs done on Wednesday and Thursday. Adam even pulled an all-nighter on Wednesday night. I had finished mine on Sunday of last week (although I did have to make a few adjustments after showing Dale) so busied myself with reading and getting ahead on other projects while most of the other students finished up their projects.
On Friday evening, Dale and Patti invited a couple of us up to their house to play risk and other board games. First, I played connect four with Isabelle and then I made origami boxes with Patti. I joined in on the second game of risk which was really fun! I was so tired though (since it was 10:30) that I didn’t bother using any strategy and I took all the other player’s advice (which was a bad idea :P) so I did not end up winning, but I had tons of fun anyway!
On Saturday, I went into town early with Ira (who stayed for the week to help Joseph out with the grounds work), Michael and Jonas to go to the farmer’s market. Michael and I each bought a loaf of fresh bread. It is soooooo good! We then met up with Dale and Patti so we went up to their house for tea and coffee (I had Chai tea, which I have discovered to be delicious!). I babysat Justus and Isabelle for about half an hour so that Dale and Patti along with a couple Crossing boys went out to get the Epp’s new piano. Apparently, Michael played the piano, which was in the trailer at the back of the car, all through Geraldine as they drove back! I played dress-up with Isabelle while Justus played air guitar at our “ball.” They are great kids and so much fun to hang out with!
Saturday afternoon was the light party (as an alternative for kids for Halloween) at the local primary school so a bunch of us helped out with that. We made crafts, had supper, and danced with the kids and they all had fun! Once back at the crossing, we had a pumpkin carving contest and we made caramel popcorn balls. I was on a team with Ben, Cameron and Robert and our pumpkin won. We made one of those funky pumpkins with an “uber complicated” design of a dragon on it. One of the other teams made a barfing pumpkin and the third team made an image of possum hunting (it was really funny!).
On Sunday, I went to the traditional service with Hanna. It was really nice and I got to talk with a lot of the people from Geraldine. I even got invited up to one of the lady’s house for afternoon tea at some point in the future! After the contemporary service, Michael, Cameron, Cara, Jordan, Adam, Jonas and I went out for a picnic lunch with a family from the church! It was tons of fun getting to know them and their four wonderful children!
When we got back, Cara, Cameron, Michael, Patti, Dale, Isabelle, Justus and I went out to pick elderflowers to make elderflower Champaign (it’s not an alcoholic drink, It’s just called Champaign because it’s fizzy). We made up the juice today, we will be bottling it up tomorrow and it should be good to drink in about two weeks! We might go out and pick more flowers to make more juice later this week since most of the flowers were not yet in bloom today
Since we had supper at the light party on Saturday, Adam, Amber, Jordan, and Kelsey are making pancakes with bacon and eggs and fruit pizza for desert. It smells delicious!!!!
- All scripture is God-breathed, God worked in the author’s bodies in natural ways to produce supernatural results. For this reason, I need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of the scripture to me. In God, I will find my self-worth (but not my self-esteem as this is not productive in my walk with Christ), and the assurance of my salvation. In order not to be deceived by false teachings, I need to know my shepherd so that I recognise His voice. I need to spend time in His word and in prayer so that I will know Him so well that I will recognise any counterfeit. I need to have a premeditated plan as to how I will live out my faith and be kept accountable. This is especially important as I am going to university next year. I need to be careful not to get caught up in university life but make a plan ahead of time of how I will live out my faith.
- Mercy is not getting what I deserve; grace is getting what I don’t deserve. God doesn’t just shower me with mercy, He also offers me unimaginable grace! And it is only standing in God’s grace that I can find true peace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, so what are we getting.
- Colossians 1:9-12 presents the prayer that God will answer. This is not because it has the ‘magic’ words, but rather because it is prayed according to God’s will. Although God does on occasion answer by yes my prayers that are not of His will, it is in order to teach me. God has, however, a ‘best’ for me, and that is only in His will. For this reason, I want to walk totally in God’s will (although self tends to get in the way) because He works ALL things together for good (His good, not necessarily mine) and for His glory. Also, as I learned form the story of Shadrak, Meshach, and Abednego, it is better to be in the fire with Christ, than out of the fire without Christ. If God can hold the entire universe together, I need to ask myself if I trust Him to hold my life together.
- The only way I can walk in a way pleasing to God is if I walk in faith. In this way, once I have accepted Christ’s sacrifice as the precious gift of the cleansing of my sin, I can come into God’s presence, but He doesn’t see me, He sees the lamb who is without sin and He is smiling at me – an ear to ear smile!
- I have the same power as that that raised Christ from the dead sin because Christ lives in me. But it is a quiet power, a power that enables me to be humble, forgiving, longsuffering, and joyful.
- There is a danger that legalism will lead to pride and self righteousness in my life. I tend to be one to focus on the rules that need to be followed so I need to refocus and realise that ALL my sins, past and future, are nailed to the cross and I need to stop trying to take them down again. I need to de to my old self, and then I need to stop feeding my old self (with wrong images from the media) and start feeding the new self (with the word of God and fellowship with Him).
When I work, I need to work as for Christ, not for man. I need to work diligently, even when no on is watching.
On Monday, the Te Mapua staff came for lunch. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the word got out and we were all soooo excited (or at least I was :P)! I heard them come in while we were still in class and I was sitting there thinking “Hurry up Dale, I want to get out of class!” When we finally got out of class (:P) they were all in the living room and they had one of the praise songs playing and they were all dancing to it. It was really cool! For lunch, since it was raining, we spread out, some of us eating at the tables and others sitting on blankets on the living room floor. After lunch, we sang som of the songs and they taught us the action to “In the Light.” I was so excited to be ‘rocking out’ to the praise songs again! While talking to Miss Jai about the possibility of continuing to serve with Te Mapua, Miss Jai said that she went to one camp and she was addicted. It thought it was a really good description! Te Mapua has been on my mind ever since leaving. It is such an awesome ministry and I would love to serve with them again.
On Tuesday, we had our ministry (Bible in Schools). I think it went much better this time since we knew what we were doing. Basically, the government has allowed volunteers to go into schools and teach the Bible since there is no religious education. Officially, the school is closed down during the teaching time so that parents have the option of taking their children out of school if they don’t want them receiving the teaching. Ben, Cara, Bryan, and I are part of this ministry. Bryan and I are working with the equivalent to a kindergarten class. One of the reasons one of the teachers at this school is so open to the project is because most of the kids only know Jesus as a swear word. My prayer is that God will use us to plant a seed in the kids’ hearts and that we will be able to teach (without offending any parents or teachers) effectively and truthfully.
For workday, I cleaned the entire student lounge (which is our classroom). Once again, I really enjoyed workday!
Our Progress of Redemption project was due on Friday so everyone was scrambling to get theirs done on Wednesday and Thursday. Adam even pulled an all-nighter on Wednesday night. I had finished mine on Sunday of last week (although I did have to make a few adjustments after showing Dale) so busied myself with reading and getting ahead on other projects while most of the other students finished up their projects.
On Friday evening, Dale and Patti invited a couple of us up to their house to play risk and other board games. First, I played connect four with Isabelle and then I made origami boxes with Patti. I joined in on the second game of risk which was really fun! I was so tired though (since it was 10:30) that I didn’t bother using any strategy and I took all the other player’s advice (which was a bad idea :P) so I did not end up winning, but I had tons of fun anyway!
On Saturday, I went into town early with Ira (who stayed for the week to help Joseph out with the grounds work), Michael and Jonas to go to the farmer’s market. Michael and I each bought a loaf of fresh bread. It is soooooo good! We then met up with Dale and Patti so we went up to their house for tea and coffee (I had Chai tea, which I have discovered to be delicious!). I babysat Justus and Isabelle for about half an hour so that Dale and Patti along with a couple Crossing boys went out to get the Epp’s new piano. Apparently, Michael played the piano, which was in the trailer at the back of the car, all through Geraldine as they drove back! I played dress-up with Isabelle while Justus played air guitar at our “ball.” They are great kids and so much fun to hang out with!
Saturday afternoon was the light party (as an alternative for kids for Halloween) at the local primary school so a bunch of us helped out with that. We made crafts, had supper, and danced with the kids and they all had fun! Once back at the crossing, we had a pumpkin carving contest and we made caramel popcorn balls. I was on a team with Ben, Cameron and Robert and our pumpkin won. We made one of those funky pumpkins with an “uber complicated” design of a dragon on it. One of the other teams made a barfing pumpkin and the third team made an image of possum hunting (it was really funny!).
On Sunday, I went to the traditional service with Hanna. It was really nice and I got to talk with a lot of the people from Geraldine. I even got invited up to one of the lady’s house for afternoon tea at some point in the future! After the contemporary service, Michael, Cameron, Cara, Jordan, Adam, Jonas and I went out for a picnic lunch with a family from the church! It was tons of fun getting to know them and their four wonderful children!
When we got back, Cara, Cameron, Michael, Patti, Dale, Isabelle, Justus and I went out to pick elderflowers to make elderflower Champaign (it’s not an alcoholic drink, It’s just called Champaign because it’s fizzy). We made up the juice today, we will be bottling it up tomorrow and it should be good to drink in about two weeks! We might go out and pick more flowers to make more juice later this week since most of the flowers were not yet in bloom today
Since we had supper at the light party on Saturday, Adam, Amber, Jordan, and Kelsey are making pancakes with bacon and eggs and fruit pizza for desert. It smells delicious!!!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Birthday Rap
Ben, Joel, and Jonas (they call themselves "Tripple J") have begun a tradition of writing and performing a rap for each student and staff’s birthday. They will beat box and rap, usually right after supper. It’s really funny!!
Here is the rap for Michael’s birthday which was on the first week we were here:
Guess what’s today
I’ll tell you bab-a
Is it the day you get paid?
No! It’s your birthday! OK
You’re twenty now
But you’re not yet a big-fat-lazy cow
Soon you’ll have a mustache
But then you’ll be rolling around in your Ford Mustang with lots of cash
Now you’re broke though
But now you’ve found some dough, oh. OK
Oh now we are at Capernwray
The place you don’t smoke you just pray
Everyday, especially on Sunday
Then Monday, then Tuesday, not Wednesday (that’s workday),
But Thursday, and Friday, maybe Saturday
Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! OK
Staying up late drinking lots of coke
Writing a rap song ‘cuz we’re in a boat
This is my feeling it aint work or play
I’m just trying to say Happy Birthday! OK
And here’s the rap song for Jonas (Oct. 23rd) and Sheryl (Oct. 24th):
We’re rapping this rap cuz it’s your birthday
And now we’re talking anyway. Hey!
Jonas you’re 21 now
But you’re not a big fat old purple cow.
You love to drink juice and play starcraft
And you know what you’re not that ‘badft.’
King’s corner is your game of tricks
And when you put down six, you say “pick up sticks.”
Now we’ll rap about Sheryl.
Because she’s leaving ‘tomoroel’
She makes really great food
That is really good.
With the help of Hanna
She just ate a Banana.
You are both blond,
But Sheryl you are a little dirtier blond but that’s OK
And we’re rapping for both of you today
Cuz guess what, it’s your birthday! (It’s your birthday)
Here is the rap for Michael’s birthday which was on the first week we were here:
Guess what’s today
I’ll tell you bab-a
Is it the day you get paid?
No! It’s your birthday! OK
You’re twenty now
But you’re not yet a big-fat-lazy cow
Soon you’ll have a mustache
But then you’ll be rolling around in your Ford Mustang with lots of cash
Now you’re broke though
But now you’ve found some dough, oh. OK
Oh now we are at Capernwray
The place you don’t smoke you just pray
Everyday, especially on Sunday
Then Monday, then Tuesday, not Wednesday (that’s workday),
But Thursday, and Friday, maybe Saturday
Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! OK
Staying up late drinking lots of coke
Writing a rap song ‘cuz we’re in a boat
This is my feeling it aint work or play
I’m just trying to say Happy Birthday! OK
And here’s the rap song for Jonas (Oct. 23rd) and Sheryl (Oct. 24th):
We’re rapping this rap cuz it’s your birthday
And now we’re talking anyway. Hey!
Jonas you’re 21 now
But you’re not a big fat old purple cow.
You love to drink juice and play starcraft
And you know what you’re not that ‘badft.’
King’s corner is your game of tricks
And when you put down six, you say “pick up sticks.”
Now we’ll rap about Sheryl.
Because she’s leaving ‘tomoroel’
She makes really great food
That is really good.
With the help of Hanna
She just ate a Banana.
You are both blond,
But Sheryl you are a little dirtier blond but that’s OK
And we’re rapping for both of you today
Cuz guess what, it’s your birthday! (It’s your birthday)
Week 5
This week, we studied the book of Genesis. Richard Neville taught on the first 36 chapters and in a DVD series Billy Strachan taught from chapter 37 and on (the life of Joseph). I believe we will be continuing the series on the life of Joseph next week. As usual, here is my journal entry for this week:
- God revealed Himself as trinity, even though this is an impossible attribute for me to understand, because it is who He is. The fact that He is three in one means that we, the church, need to be one with each other and one with God just as God is one. Every practical longing of my heart – for community, for love, for acceptance, and for order – is fulfilled only in a triune God. I have therefore been adopted into the perfect community.
- I need to come at the scriptures, not trying to squeeze the answers I need out of it, but understanding the original context of the text. Once I understand why, when, where, and for whom the text was written, I can then get something out of it for myself. I can squeeze any answer out of the scriptures, but it would be the answer I want, not the meaning that was intended. By coming at it with an understanding of context, on the other hand, I can see what it was intended to communicate.
- There are two main worldviews, or stories, and I need to decide which one I will live in: the evolutionary or Biblical story. My worldview will determine the decisions I make and the actions I take. I tend to seek a ‘reasonable Christianity,’ taking bits and pieces from each worldview and making Jesus into what I want. I can only truly live in God’s story once I understand what has come before me (the fall, Abraham, the covenant, Jesus, etc) and what is to come after me (new heaven and new earth). I need to live for God, in His story, and with Him completely indwelling me.
- God is good.
- I can see that God is good in how He provided for all of humanities needs in creation. He created life and loves all of life deeply. God did not intend for us to suffer, but there is still pain and suffering in the world due to Adam and Eve’s first sin. God does, however, use even suffering to further His perfect will. God can and does use suffering in my life to teach me, to mould me, and to bring Himself glory because it is only with His spirit in me that I can withstand pressure. I need to be consistent and faithful and totally trusting that God is in control and that He is good all the time and in every circumstance. It is when I forget that God is good that I am most vulnerable to fall into sin. I need to remember that, whatever may happen, God is always in control and working out His good and perfect will. Through it all, God gets all the glory. For me to claim any of the glory would be as silly as a bottle claiming the glory for the milk inside it!
- I need to be careful not to put my faith in the technologies of this world but in God who can and does work through them. It’s not that I can’t take medicine or use the internet for example; instead I need to constantly remind myself that they are gifts from God and not gods in themselves. I need to live in response to God’s promises, trusting in His guidance, and believing that His plan is better than mine could ever be and not be enticed away by attractive alternatives or impulses of the moment.
- I need to remember that God is all-powerful: if He is for me, who can be against me? Just as God was with Jacob (as He showed in Jacob’s dream of the angels climbing between heaven and earth) God’s armies are still at work in the world today, even though I cannot see them. I need not be afraid because, as Elisha said, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
- I tend to see God first and foremost as a God of love – which He is – while forgetting that He is also a God of perfect wrath. No one in the Bible hugs God on their first encounter. I never realized that God is more like a lion than a lamb: able to tear me to pieces. But I know that, because of the righteousness of Christ that clothes me, I can approach the throne of God with both dignity, but also totally humbly. “The dignity comes from the fact that [I’m] now worthy to come [...] at all times; the humility comes from the fact that [I] had absolutely nothing to do with this worthiness” (Revolution Within, P.63). I realise that I have been worshiping a god that I have made small and nice and gentle. I now realise that I want to know God for who He is, not as how I would prefer Him to be.
I have started making myself mochas for morning tea ad they’re really good! Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure about the ratio of coffee to Milo (the New Zealand semi-equivalent to hot chocolate) at first. The first cup I made was pretty good, so, because the tea cups are pretty small, I made myself a second one but I put in way too much coffee. I couldn’t make it taste better no mater how much Milo and sugar I added! I have now figured out the ratio and really enjoy having mochas.
On Tuesday, we had a girls/guys night. The guys went out to a muddy racetrack and raced around an old car that had all its windows smashed out, then they went to someone’s house for steak and potatoes, and, once it was dark enough, they went out possum and rabbit hunting. We, on the other hand, got all dressed up and went to the Epp’s house. We had a delicious appetizer of crackers, baguette, cheese, and tons of different spreads (like tuna, pesto, and crab) . For tea (or supper), we had a salad with fried cheese and mango. The fried cheese was really good! It was kind of salty like feta but quite dense. For pudding (what we Canadians would call desert), we had chocolate fondue. Afterwards, we watched a movie while getting a foot spa. It was really relaxing and it was nice to spend some time with the girls!
For workday Wednesday, Kelsey and I pruned the rosebushes around the property. It’s scary to cut these huge branches off the rosebush (especially on the first bush I did) because I felt like I was killing it! But by the end, it was really neat to see how much of a difference it really makes. I really like workdays because it s so rewarding to get the work done and to see the difference it makes.
In the first week of school, the guys thought it would be funny to play a prank on the girls. So one night, they took the mattress from Joel B.’s bed (since he hasn’t yet come to the Crossing) and leaned it up against the girls’ bedroom door with a chair behind it to make it more difficult to get out. We decided we had to get even, but figured we should wait so that our revenge would be unexpected. And so, the night after the possum incident (see the post for week 4), we woke up at 2:30am to set up our prank (I didn’t participate, I just watched). We attached wire to the door handles, tying them to each other in an attempt to make it impossible for them to open their doors. Unfortunately, the wire didn’t stay as well as we had hoped and so the prank kind of flunked. To return the favour, late Friday night, the guys took one shoe from each pair on the shelves just outside our room (and there are quite a few pairs!) and hid them all around the house. There was a shoe between the rungs on the banister, one in the fridge, two hanging from Bruce (the dear head on the wall in the student lounge), some on various crown mouldings around the house, one in a vase in the dining room, one hanging from a light fixture, one beneath the bag of one of the rubbish bins, some in the student mailboxes, some above various cupboards, and many more! It was hilarious!!! I got some pictures of some of the more creative spots. Now we are left with the dilemma of how to get a proper revenge. If you have any suggestions of harmless pranks, I would love to hear about them! You can leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. Thanks!
I must tell you about Adam’s laughing fits, they are quite amusing!!! It started in Werner’s classes in the first week of classes. Werner would make Adam laugh with his way of saying things and Adam would go completely red in the face and laugh, almost silently, hysterically for minutes at a time. It got to the point where he would start to laugh and then the people beside and behind him would notice and start to laugh and tell the people beside them, and it would quickly spread to the rest of the class. I would hear “Oh, he’s gone again!” and would know immediately that it was Adam that they were talking about. Thankfully, Werner took it well. Since then, Adam has had numerous laughing fits which we tease him about but I don’t think he minds too much.
I spent a lot of time this week working on a project on the progress of redemption (which I finished on Sunday, even though it is only due next Friday). Basically, the project consists of finding a way to illustrate the progress of redemption (God's plan and how He has, is, and will be working it out). We can write a poem, make a movie, do an oral, draw a picture, or anything else we can think of. I made a video on windows moviemaker complete with my own photography, funky transitions and text, and even music! I’m really glad I’ve seen Ben fool around on moviemaker because that meant that I wasn’t learning completely from scratch. I really had fun with it!
On Friday, Michael and I started a ‘book club.’ Hanna joined us. We’re reading out way through the chronicles of Narnia, starting with the ‘Magician’s Nephew.’ We each take turns reading a chapter out loud. It brings back memories of reading with Mom. I think it brought back good memories for everyone because we spent the next hour talking about our families. The plan is to read one chapter a night (perhaps more on weekends when we have more time). At the rate we are reading, we might finish the book by next Sunday!
On Saturday, a bunch of us walked down to Keen road (it took about half an hour at a slow pace) and then we decided to follow Keen road since we had heard it came to the Waihi river (which is the river that runs from the Crossing to Geraldine that we have walked along in the past). As it turns out, thr road not only comes to the river, but actually crosses it without a bridge! While we were there, a car drove through the water witch came to about the middle of our calves. It was really neat! We spent about 15 minutes there, walking through the freezing cold water, throwing rocks to try to splash each other and generally having a good time. I really enjoy the walks we take as a group because we get to just goof around and have fun. For supper, it was Michael, Cara, and Ben who cooked and they made chicken put pie that wasn’t quite pie. Basically, it was the pie filling but with dumplings on top instead of a pie crust. It was slightly late, but it was worth the wait!
On Sunday, Ira came for supper. He will be staying for the week to help out with projects aroud the property. Ira was a student here last year and he served at the Te Mapua camp when the Capernwray crew was there. It was really nice reconnecting with him! And I got his Te Mapua pictures!!!!!!! For Sunday night fellowship, Werner spoke on Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. He is such a good teacher!
I have made some changes to previous posts and have made them bold so feel free to go back and read them!
I would still appreciate prayer for Joel B. as he is still waiting for his student visa to come in. Also, I have been struggling to get enough sleep, sometimes by lack of discipline and sometimes due to the fact that we are five girls sharing a room and we don’t all go to bed at the same time.
A little reminder, I would love to hear about your best harmless prank ideas! We aren’t allowed into the boys’ rooms, that is just about the only restriction.
- God revealed Himself as trinity, even though this is an impossible attribute for me to understand, because it is who He is. The fact that He is three in one means that we, the church, need to be one with each other and one with God just as God is one. Every practical longing of my heart – for community, for love, for acceptance, and for order – is fulfilled only in a triune God. I have therefore been adopted into the perfect community.
- I need to come at the scriptures, not trying to squeeze the answers I need out of it, but understanding the original context of the text. Once I understand why, when, where, and for whom the text was written, I can then get something out of it for myself. I can squeeze any answer out of the scriptures, but it would be the answer I want, not the meaning that was intended. By coming at it with an understanding of context, on the other hand, I can see what it was intended to communicate.
- There are two main worldviews, or stories, and I need to decide which one I will live in: the evolutionary or Biblical story. My worldview will determine the decisions I make and the actions I take. I tend to seek a ‘reasonable Christianity,’ taking bits and pieces from each worldview and making Jesus into what I want. I can only truly live in God’s story once I understand what has come before me (the fall, Abraham, the covenant, Jesus, etc) and what is to come after me (new heaven and new earth). I need to live for God, in His story, and with Him completely indwelling me.
- God is good.
- I can see that God is good in how He provided for all of humanities needs in creation. He created life and loves all of life deeply. God did not intend for us to suffer, but there is still pain and suffering in the world due to Adam and Eve’s first sin. God does, however, use even suffering to further His perfect will. God can and does use suffering in my life to teach me, to mould me, and to bring Himself glory because it is only with His spirit in me that I can withstand pressure. I need to be consistent and faithful and totally trusting that God is in control and that He is good all the time and in every circumstance. It is when I forget that God is good that I am most vulnerable to fall into sin. I need to remember that, whatever may happen, God is always in control and working out His good and perfect will. Through it all, God gets all the glory. For me to claim any of the glory would be as silly as a bottle claiming the glory for the milk inside it!
- I need to be careful not to put my faith in the technologies of this world but in God who can and does work through them. It’s not that I can’t take medicine or use the internet for example; instead I need to constantly remind myself that they are gifts from God and not gods in themselves. I need to live in response to God’s promises, trusting in His guidance, and believing that His plan is better than mine could ever be and not be enticed away by attractive alternatives or impulses of the moment.
- I need to remember that God is all-powerful: if He is for me, who can be against me? Just as God was with Jacob (as He showed in Jacob’s dream of the angels climbing between heaven and earth) God’s armies are still at work in the world today, even though I cannot see them. I need not be afraid because, as Elisha said, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
- I tend to see God first and foremost as a God of love – which He is – while forgetting that He is also a God of perfect wrath. No one in the Bible hugs God on their first encounter. I never realized that God is more like a lion than a lamb: able to tear me to pieces. But I know that, because of the righteousness of Christ that clothes me, I can approach the throne of God with both dignity, but also totally humbly. “The dignity comes from the fact that [I’m] now worthy to come [...] at all times; the humility comes from the fact that [I] had absolutely nothing to do with this worthiness” (Revolution Within, P.63). I realise that I have been worshiping a god that I have made small and nice and gentle. I now realise that I want to know God for who He is, not as how I would prefer Him to be.
I have started making myself mochas for morning tea ad they’re really good! Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure about the ratio of coffee to Milo (the New Zealand semi-equivalent to hot chocolate) at first. The first cup I made was pretty good, so, because the tea cups are pretty small, I made myself a second one but I put in way too much coffee. I couldn’t make it taste better no mater how much Milo and sugar I added! I have now figured out the ratio and really enjoy having mochas.
On Tuesday, we had a girls/guys night. The guys went out to a muddy racetrack and raced around an old car that had all its windows smashed out, then they went to someone’s house for steak and potatoes, and, once it was dark enough, they went out possum and rabbit hunting. We, on the other hand, got all dressed up and went to the Epp’s house. We had a delicious appetizer of crackers, baguette, cheese, and tons of different spreads (like tuna, pesto, and crab) . For tea (or supper), we had a salad with fried cheese and mango. The fried cheese was really good! It was kind of salty like feta but quite dense. For pudding (what we Canadians would call desert), we had chocolate fondue. Afterwards, we watched a movie while getting a foot spa. It was really relaxing and it was nice to spend some time with the girls!
For workday Wednesday, Kelsey and I pruned the rosebushes around the property. It’s scary to cut these huge branches off the rosebush (especially on the first bush I did) because I felt like I was killing it! But by the end, it was really neat to see how much of a difference it really makes. I really like workdays because it s so rewarding to get the work done and to see the difference it makes.
In the first week of school, the guys thought it would be funny to play a prank on the girls. So one night, they took the mattress from Joel B.’s bed (since he hasn’t yet come to the Crossing) and leaned it up against the girls’ bedroom door with a chair behind it to make it more difficult to get out. We decided we had to get even, but figured we should wait so that our revenge would be unexpected. And so, the night after the possum incident (see the post for week 4), we woke up at 2:30am to set up our prank (I didn’t participate, I just watched). We attached wire to the door handles, tying them to each other in an attempt to make it impossible for them to open their doors. Unfortunately, the wire didn’t stay as well as we had hoped and so the prank kind of flunked. To return the favour, late Friday night, the guys took one shoe from each pair on the shelves just outside our room (and there are quite a few pairs!) and hid them all around the house. There was a shoe between the rungs on the banister, one in the fridge, two hanging from Bruce (the dear head on the wall in the student lounge), some on various crown mouldings around the house, one in a vase in the dining room, one hanging from a light fixture, one beneath the bag of one of the rubbish bins, some in the student mailboxes, some above various cupboards, and many more! It was hilarious!!! I got some pictures of some of the more creative spots. Now we are left with the dilemma of how to get a proper revenge. If you have any suggestions of harmless pranks, I would love to hear about them! You can leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. Thanks!
I must tell you about Adam’s laughing fits, they are quite amusing!!! It started in Werner’s classes in the first week of classes. Werner would make Adam laugh with his way of saying things and Adam would go completely red in the face and laugh, almost silently, hysterically for minutes at a time. It got to the point where he would start to laugh and then the people beside and behind him would notice and start to laugh and tell the people beside them, and it would quickly spread to the rest of the class. I would hear “Oh, he’s gone again!” and would know immediately that it was Adam that they were talking about. Thankfully, Werner took it well. Since then, Adam has had numerous laughing fits which we tease him about but I don’t think he minds too much.
I spent a lot of time this week working on a project on the progress of redemption (which I finished on Sunday, even though it is only due next Friday). Basically, the project consists of finding a way to illustrate the progress of redemption (God's plan and how He has, is, and will be working it out). We can write a poem, make a movie, do an oral, draw a picture, or anything else we can think of. I made a video on windows moviemaker complete with my own photography, funky transitions and text, and even music! I’m really glad I’ve seen Ben fool around on moviemaker because that meant that I wasn’t learning completely from scratch. I really had fun with it!
On Friday, Michael and I started a ‘book club.’ Hanna joined us. We’re reading out way through the chronicles of Narnia, starting with the ‘Magician’s Nephew.’ We each take turns reading a chapter out loud. It brings back memories of reading with Mom. I think it brought back good memories for everyone because we spent the next hour talking about our families. The plan is to read one chapter a night (perhaps more on weekends when we have more time). At the rate we are reading, we might finish the book by next Sunday!
On Saturday, a bunch of us walked down to Keen road (it took about half an hour at a slow pace) and then we decided to follow Keen road since we had heard it came to the Waihi river (which is the river that runs from the Crossing to Geraldine that we have walked along in the past). As it turns out, thr road not only comes to the river, but actually crosses it without a bridge! While we were there, a car drove through the water witch came to about the middle of our calves. It was really neat! We spent about 15 minutes there, walking through the freezing cold water, throwing rocks to try to splash each other and generally having a good time. I really enjoy the walks we take as a group because we get to just goof around and have fun. For supper, it was Michael, Cara, and Ben who cooked and they made chicken put pie that wasn’t quite pie. Basically, it was the pie filling but with dumplings on top instead of a pie crust. It was slightly late, but it was worth the wait!
On Sunday, Ira came for supper. He will be staying for the week to help out with projects aroud the property. Ira was a student here last year and he served at the Te Mapua camp when the Capernwray crew was there. It was really nice reconnecting with him! And I got his Te Mapua pictures!!!!!!! For Sunday night fellowship, Werner spoke on Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. He is such a good teacher!
I have made some changes to previous posts and have made them bold so feel free to go back and read them!
I would still appreciate prayer for Joel B. as he is still waiting for his student visa to come in. Also, I have been struggling to get enough sleep, sometimes by lack of discipline and sometimes due to the fact that we are five girls sharing a room and we don’t all go to bed at the same time.
A little reminder, I would love to hear about your best harmless prank ideas! We aren’t allowed into the boys’ rooms, that is just about the only restriction.
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