Well, it has been a crazy August, full of lots of things, from freak hailstorms to girl problems to fun fights with family. And I am definitely ready for September to start. My mom asked me yesterday how things were going, and I responded with "Interestingly." She took it to mean good, and I explained some of it was good, some was bad, but I knew all of it would be worthwhile.
September will hopefully have more of the good life then the good growing experiences, because I am ready for some happy fun times.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The weekend...
Well, once again I feel like retreat would be better spent if we stayed on campus and just rented out a pool and had chapel because that is pretty much the only thing that happens. I do not feel some grand change after retreat, which is fine because I did last year but it took me seven months to actually let God finish it. What sticks out to me is something I thought of while taking a nap on one of the trails.
"We do not seclude ourselves to be alone, we seclude ourselves to be sought out."
How often is it that a person actually goes off alone to be alone? Very rarely do I do this, most of the time I go off in hopes of someone saying "Gee, I wish Patric were here, lets look for him!" Which has hardly been the case.
Chambers thought I should remember I influence everyone. The chances for the greatest influence are those when we do not plan on it.
"We do not seclude ourselves to be alone, we seclude ourselves to be sought out."
How often is it that a person actually goes off alone to be alone? Very rarely do I do this, most of the time I go off in hopes of someone saying "Gee, I wish Patric were here, lets look for him!" Which has hardly been the case.
Chambers thought I should remember I influence everyone. The chances for the greatest influence are those when we do not plan on it.
Friday, August 21, 2009
God in... Hell?
Well, my first problem with St. Augustine. In the second part of book 1, he says at one point "because nothing which exists could exist without Thee, doth therefore whatever exists contain Thee? Since, then, I too exist, why do I seek that Thou shouldest enter into me, who were not, wert Thou not in me? Why? because I am not gone down in hell, and yet Thou art there also." This seems to me to be an argument for guaranteed salvation, which would make me sharing the gospel a useless endeavor, and the thought that God is also in hell just seems to go against everything I have ever learned about what hell is.
Utmost and Highest talked about how we should be a child of God because when we are a child we conform to the will of God, it is good to see someone else agree with me, well me with them since the book was written a very long time ago.
Utmost and Highest talked about how we should be a child of God because when we are a child we conform to the will of God, it is good to see someone else agree with me, well me with them since the book was written a very long time ago.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Spiritual Formation Journal
Because Doc D said we could pretty much write our journal on whatever we want, I am going to make that my blog posts for the next little while, because it already exists, I hate actually writing things down, and maybe someone will stumble upon something meaningful in it that will help them through something.
At the end of last semester, I started reading "Utmost and Highest" as my devotional, this continued through most of the summer up until the last week after the storm hit and all my time was spent working, so I will be starting that again for my daily devotions, I also am going to read sections of Confessions of St. Augustine after I finish my devotions because it is pretty hefty and I do not want to have to read it all in a rush. This, along with the everything else at Barclay College and life in general will be included in this journal.
For where I am starting out, I feel that I have the spiritual life of a middle aged person. Which means I have a long ways to go since we are supposed to have the faith of a child.
Todays verse in Utmost and Highest is from Matthew, when Jesus says "Come onto Me". I have really enjoyed this devotional because it closely examines one verse in ways I have never thought of. The way Chambers interprets this passage is that there are times when everything from the outside world piles up and makes us lose our focus on God. When I prayed before the reading, I asked for guidance about a current battle I am about to wage in the best, most respectful way I can, although against the authority that has the most immediate power over me next to God and my mom. I asked God for his help in discerning how far and hard I should take this, I think I should take it as far as I can as long as I do not lose my focus on Him.
At the end of last semester, I started reading "Utmost and Highest" as my devotional, this continued through most of the summer up until the last week after the storm hit and all my time was spent working, so I will be starting that again for my daily devotions, I also am going to read sections of Confessions of St. Augustine after I finish my devotions because it is pretty hefty and I do not want to have to read it all in a rush. This, along with the everything else at Barclay College and life in general will be included in this journal.
For where I am starting out, I feel that I have the spiritual life of a middle aged person. Which means I have a long ways to go since we are supposed to have the faith of a child.
Todays verse in Utmost and Highest is from Matthew, when Jesus says "Come onto Me". I have really enjoyed this devotional because it closely examines one verse in ways I have never thought of. The way Chambers interprets this passage is that there are times when everything from the outside world piles up and makes us lose our focus on God. When I prayed before the reading, I asked for guidance about a current battle I am about to wage in the best, most respectful way I can, although against the authority that has the most immediate power over me next to God and my mom. I asked God for his help in discerning how far and hard I should take this, I think I should take it as far as I can as long as I do not lose my focus on Him.
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