Some of you may know this already and some of you not, but it is required of us, in order to graduate DTS, to complete 4 semesters of Spiritual Formation. This is essentially a small group. We meet once a week for about an hour and a half. There are 7 of us in my group and it is all women. At first I did not want to do this. See we don't get credit for it and I was a little erked, if you will, that they would add something else to our list of requirements that fill our schedule and not give us credit for it. Oh yeah, did I mention we don't get credit for it. I guess you could say I had a poor attitude about it. Well as usually happens when I have that kind of attitude, I was wrong, and for those of you who know me well, you know that is not something I like to admit ;) .
Today was the second time I have met with my group and again I throughly enjoyed it. We have a good range of ages and definitely a huge mix of backgrounds, but that is what makes this group so perfect. I can totally see how God brought this group together and I'm so thankful for that. These women are already challenging and stretching me in such a good way. I know I'm going to learn a lot from them this semester and I'm just so excited to see what God does with our group.
I will share just a little of what we talked about today. (Nothing personal because confidentiality is part of our covenant.) At the end of our hour our group leader asked us to think of our "happy place". The place that just makes you feel at peace and closer to God. The place that brings rest to your soul. Do you have a place in mind yet? Go ahead and get one. . . . . .
Did you ever notice that when asked this question most people pick a place outdoors? Nobody ever says that their special place is in the bathroom or in the kitchen. Now it may be on a porch or near a window, but usually it is some place in nature, some part of God's creation such as near the ocean, in the mountains, on a lake, looking at the stars, etc. . . It is usually some place where we are in awe of God's creation. Now think about the fact that above all these things You, man, is God's crowning creation. We are His greatest work. Think about that for a second and how amazing that is.
Yes we have fallen short of God originally intended us to be because of sin, but that is why as Christians it is our goal to be more like Christ. He was perfection and without sin. this is our spiritual formation, our growth, our goal to be like Christ. The problem is the more we study and grow closer to God, we realize how amazing, how wonderful, how maginificant Christ is and that there is a huge gap between where we are and where we strive to be. Even with that gap, God still loves us and still considers us His crowning creation. Pretty awesome to think about. What an amazing love.
So for this first semester of Spiritual Formation we are talking about Identity. Our Identity in Christ. And I will write more as I grow and learn. That's all for now. Don't want to be late for class. :)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Conviction
If you have ever felt convicted by the Holy Spirit then you know how powerful it can be. The last couple sessions of my BE 101 class (Bible Study Methods) have been some of the most convicting moments in my life. My professor is about 80 years old and one of the wisest, loving men I have ever met. He has a huge heart for the Lord and for the word (and for his students). I look forward to attending his class because I know he is going to share not only practical and proven methods of bible study, but also his heart and his life experience.
The last couple of weeks he has had us focus on Acts 1:8 so we can practice the principles of Bible study we are learning class. I think he also chose this particular verse because of the message. If you were to try and summarize the book of Acts, you could easily say that it is primarily about 3 things. 1. Christ going up - ascension. 2. The Holy Spirit coming down - gift from God. 3. The church going out - Christ calling the apostles (and us) to go out as witnesses. Acts 1:8 says that we will receive something, the Holy Spirit, and we will be something, witnesses. We will be Christ's personal representatives to all the inhabited parts of the earth.
After Christ tells the apostles to go be his witnesses, he tells them where to start. He tells them to start in Jerusalem. That is exactly where the apostles were when Jesus was speaking to them. Begin where you are. This was so convicting for me because I thought who have I shared the gospel with that is in my everyday life. Have I had that difficult conversation about who Jesus is with the people I love the most? What about the people I interact with daily? Will they know the love of the Father, the freedom of a life in Christ, will they know grace? Why is it so scary to do this? Jesus said the Holy Spirit will come and inhabit us and give us the power. So as Prof said today and as I have written in my notes: Why be scared to share your faith. The Holy Spirit will do it through you. Trust Him!
The last couple of weeks he has had us focus on Acts 1:8 so we can practice the principles of Bible study we are learning class. I think he also chose this particular verse because of the message. If you were to try and summarize the book of Acts, you could easily say that it is primarily about 3 things. 1. Christ going up - ascension. 2. The Holy Spirit coming down - gift from God. 3. The church going out - Christ calling the apostles (and us) to go out as witnesses. Acts 1:8 says that we will receive something, the Holy Spirit, and we will be something, witnesses. We will be Christ's personal representatives to all the inhabited parts of the earth.
After Christ tells the apostles to go be his witnesses, he tells them where to start. He tells them to start in Jerusalem. That is exactly where the apostles were when Jesus was speaking to them. Begin where you are. This was so convicting for me because I thought who have I shared the gospel with that is in my everyday life. Have I had that difficult conversation about who Jesus is with the people I love the most? What about the people I interact with daily? Will they know the love of the Father, the freedom of a life in Christ, will they know grace? Why is it so scary to do this? Jesus said the Holy Spirit will come and inhabit us and give us the power. So as Prof said today and as I have written in my notes: Why be scared to share your faith. The Holy Spirit will do it through you. Trust Him!
Friday, September 4, 2009
What is Beauty?
One of the classes I'm taking here at DTS is entitled A Christian View of Art. This class begins at 7:45 am and it is on Friday mornings and last for two and half hours. You would think one would need lots of coffee to make it through such a course. So far it has proved to be the exact opposite.
We had a very interesting conversation in class today about Aesthetics and I wanted to share it with you. What makes something beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. I study done by the University of Texas Austin showed that young children (with no influence of culture yet) from all around the world smiled or enjoyed the same set of images. The one thing these images all had in common was symmetry. We know from the Word that God is beautiful (Psalm 27:4, just to give one example). His beauty is the symmetry of all his attributes: omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal, loving, patient, just, merciful, gracious, etc. . . We also know that God created us in his image. Everything he creates reveals His character, something of who He is. Therefore by definition we are creative, all of us. Making choices is a creative act. Difference is God created from nothing and we create from what exists. Ideally we should create in what reveals His nature and character. We should create with Integrity - what is true to it's creator.
This inevitably brought up the discussion of pornography. I was glad that it did because it always makes me angry when people say that pornography cannot be defined. (I'm pretty sure I know what it is when I see it. ) Our professor gave a very good definition of pornography that I don't believe most people are aware of. . .
Porno in Greek means evil, wrong or a "lie". Graphy means to write or portray. Therefore one could safely say that pornography is the portrayal of a lie. It is not the naked body part, it is the lie the work portrays that makes it pornography. Statues of Greek nudes are considered works of beauty, afterall the human form is beauty. It is not a lie. It was created by God. Pornography creates the lie that this relationship is free, it's available, it is self-indulgent. Beauty is found in truth. Pornography violates the truth God has set in place.
This inevitably brought up the discussion of vulgarity. If you are an actor playing a non-fictional character who always used "swear words", isn't it truth then to keep those words in your performance. Hollywood I believe takes this too far and uses this type of language for a shock value, but there can be truth there and in turn beauty in that performance.
This inevitably turned to a discussion of, is a Christian going against what they believe in playing a certain role or using language like this in a song, story or poem? Our professor suggested that there is a reason that Harry Potter was more successful than the Left Behind series. Left Behind classified people as either good or bad, which is not usually the case. Harry Potter deals with real human emotions and real struggles humans have. The classic good vs. evil. So this resonates with us. We have to be careful not to put ourselves or things into the "safe category" or as we like to call it the "Christian category". There is truth in art and truth comes from the Father. I heard Donald Miller speak once and it really stuck with me when he asked, "When did Christian become an adjective?". Anything that is good or true or just or right or beautiful comes from the Father not just those items which are labeled "Christian".
We finished with this and I'm sure we will continue these topics more and I will keep you updated. But our final notes this class period were as follows. . .
If we are a reflection of God himself (imago dei) with a capacity for creativity that imitates His then
- to exercise creativity is a spiritual act.
- the evaluation of creativity is a spiritual act.
- the appreciation of creativity is a spiritual act.
because each enhances or demeans the spiritual act.
Sadly, class had ended at this point. I'm sure we will discuss more next week.
We had a very interesting conversation in class today about Aesthetics and I wanted to share it with you. What makes something beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. I study done by the University of Texas Austin showed that young children (with no influence of culture yet) from all around the world smiled or enjoyed the same set of images. The one thing these images all had in common was symmetry. We know from the Word that God is beautiful (Psalm 27:4, just to give one example). His beauty is the symmetry of all his attributes: omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal, loving, patient, just, merciful, gracious, etc. . . We also know that God created us in his image. Everything he creates reveals His character, something of who He is. Therefore by definition we are creative, all of us. Making choices is a creative act. Difference is God created from nothing and we create from what exists. Ideally we should create in what reveals His nature and character. We should create with Integrity - what is true to it's creator.
This inevitably brought up the discussion of pornography. I was glad that it did because it always makes me angry when people say that pornography cannot be defined. (I'm pretty sure I know what it is when I see it. ) Our professor gave a very good definition of pornography that I don't believe most people are aware of. . .
Porno in Greek means evil, wrong or a "lie". Graphy means to write or portray. Therefore one could safely say that pornography is the portrayal of a lie. It is not the naked body part, it is the lie the work portrays that makes it pornography. Statues of Greek nudes are considered works of beauty, afterall the human form is beauty. It is not a lie. It was created by God. Pornography creates the lie that this relationship is free, it's available, it is self-indulgent. Beauty is found in truth. Pornography violates the truth God has set in place.
This inevitably brought up the discussion of vulgarity. If you are an actor playing a non-fictional character who always used "swear words", isn't it truth then to keep those words in your performance. Hollywood I believe takes this too far and uses this type of language for a shock value, but there can be truth there and in turn beauty in that performance.
This inevitably turned to a discussion of, is a Christian going against what they believe in playing a certain role or using language like this in a song, story or poem? Our professor suggested that there is a reason that Harry Potter was more successful than the Left Behind series. Left Behind classified people as either good or bad, which is not usually the case. Harry Potter deals with real human emotions and real struggles humans have. The classic good vs. evil. So this resonates with us. We have to be careful not to put ourselves or things into the "safe category" or as we like to call it the "Christian category". There is truth in art and truth comes from the Father. I heard Donald Miller speak once and it really stuck with me when he asked, "When did Christian become an adjective?". Anything that is good or true or just or right or beautiful comes from the Father not just those items which are labeled "Christian".
We finished with this and I'm sure we will continue these topics more and I will keep you updated. But our final notes this class period were as follows. . .
If we are a reflection of God himself (imago dei) with a capacity for creativity that imitates His then
- to exercise creativity is a spiritual act.
- the evaluation of creativity is a spiritual act.
- the appreciation of creativity is a spiritual act.
because each enhances or demeans the spiritual act.
Sadly, class had ended at this point. I'm sure we will discuss more next week.
Friday, August 28, 2009
1st down!
Today I finished my first week at school. I'm exhausted, but I made it through the first week! As my mom and I would say, I made a first down. Being from the south we are of course football fans, so it seemed like the perfect metaphor. My mom definitely won her game when she graduated from nursing school this summer. I'm just looking to make it to the end of the 1st quarter at this point. That would be the end of the semester for those of you who are not catching on. ;)
I'm starting to learn my way around and I really like this city. My heart is still currently with Atlanta, but there are some good things I can say about this place.
Classes went really well. I really like all of my professors and I really like that they each begin class with a prayer. Really puts you in the right frame of mind. Also, my professors are really funny. Neat individuals who really love the Lord and who are extremely intelligent; I look forward to getting to know them more. I have read more in the last week than I have all summer! I think I may need glasses because by Thursday night I thought my head would explode if I looked at another book or computer screen. I should start working this week so it will be interesting to see how I balance all of that. I know the Lord is good and He will provide.
I know this is short, but I just wanted to give a quick update. I will write more later because I'm definitely learning a lot and have a lot more to share. :)
Jill
I'm starting to learn my way around and I really like this city. My heart is still currently with Atlanta, but there are some good things I can say about this place.
Classes went really well. I really like all of my professors and I really like that they each begin class with a prayer. Really puts you in the right frame of mind. Also, my professors are really funny. Neat individuals who really love the Lord and who are extremely intelligent; I look forward to getting to know them more. I have read more in the last week than I have all summer! I think I may need glasses because by Thursday night I thought my head would explode if I looked at another book or computer screen. I should start working this week so it will be interesting to see how I balance all of that. I know the Lord is good and He will provide.
I know this is short, but I just wanted to give a quick update. I will write more later because I'm definitely learning a lot and have a lot more to share. :)
Jill
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Night before Orientation
Well my mom just pulled out of the parking lot and I cried like a little baby. This is crazy, I'm 30 years old and crying because my mom left. Everyone here has been so so nice since I moved in and I know I'll feel much better once everything gets rolling, I just feel like a little kid without their mommy right now. Uhhhh, why do we have to grow up?! This is a little harder transition than I thought. I didn't realize how comfortable I had become in Alpharetta. :) Like my Mom said though, "the Lord brought me to it and the Lord will get me through it". BTW - Thanks everyone for your encouraging posts/comments. They help more than you know. Oh, and I found out today that I can't wear jeans to class! I about had a heart attack. I am a jeans girl. When I packed for this move I thought, "I won't need dress clothes. I'm a student, all I'll need is jeans and t-shirts". Nope, I was wrong. Oh well, guess I will need to go shopping. That will make me feel better. :) It will boost the economy a little more as well. Not that we didn't do enough of that driving out here, buying books and filling my apartment with just about everything you can get from Target. Thank you God for Super Target. What a wonderful place. :) My apartment is smaller than what I am used to, but it is very cute. I couldn't have gotten it all set up without my mom. She was amazing! I'll take some pictures so I can post them later. I live in a building that is all singles and it is right across the street from campus. Campus is small as well, but very pretty. I'm glad since this is my home away from home for the next two years.
Well orientation starts tomorrow at 8am sharp so I better get some sleep. Night all.
Well orientation starts tomorrow at 8am sharp so I better get some sleep. Night all.
Friday, August 14, 2009
1 Day Out
Well it finally hit me tonight that I'm actually leaving. I have been trying so hard not to cry, but tonight I just couldn't help myseft anymore. I did cry some at the gym saying goodbye to the kids, but tonight was a real hard cry. You know the kind where you make sound while crying. I don't know why it hit me then. I guess because in less than 24 hours my life is going to completely change. New friends, new home, new city, new job, etc. . . I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about my knowledge of the bible, about studying and writing papers and being the only one in class who doesn't know the answer. Ahhhh. . . I feel like a kid again. I know that is just dumb insecurity, but still it's there. Keep my mom and I in your prayers as we drive. I'll write more once we get there.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
10 Days Out!
So ten days from now I will be pulling out of my driveway to head to Dallas, Texas. Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited and I am, but it all feels so surreal! I don't feel like I won't be in Atlanta in two weeks. I've been here my whole life so this is all I know really, other than my few years at Clemson. I'm so excited for change and new experiences, but I'm scared too. Scared I won't do well or won't know enough or won't fit in. I know that is not from the Lord and I know without a doubt He is leading me this direction, these are just my insecurities coming out.
My going away party is this weekend at my sister's house. I'm so grateful to her for doing all this for me and I love parties (especially ones for me ;)), but this will be bittersweet. I have felt so loved from everyone this summer wanting to spend time with me and this will be like the last horrah. It will sort of make it more official. I know my mom is reading this and dreading me leaving along with a few others, (Alisa & Thea) not to mention any names ;), and I love them for it! It will be hard to say goodbye, but we all know that November will come fast and I'll be home for Thanksgiving. :) And then a few weeks and home again for Christmas. :) This summer has been so great and I have really truly enjoyed working at the church and spending my last few precious weeks with the kids at the gym, but I feel a calm/peace about this move. So it will be hard and I am nervous/anxious, but it's time and it's right. I'll write more once I get to Texas. For now, just want everyone reading this to know how much I appreciate them!
Much love,
Jill
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