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.