It was an ordinary day with ordinary tasks. Students were busy working away, trying to survive the craziness of finals week. We were discussing the latest SGA meeting and talking about their upcoming events like Sister Weekend and Dad’s Night. Conversation shifted to next semester, and then it happened – like a spark that just caught flame.
She told us about the email that students received, about the impending state budget cuts that threatened tuition grants, that threatened the money used to pay her tuition and that of many other students. But what can she do? She asks. The question hung in the air… What can she do? What can one student upset about a state decision do?
Then another student joined in, “I can’t come back next semester without the grant money.” Then another student chimed, “I’ll owe over a thousand dollars.” As student after student joined in the conversation, something magical happened. The conversation turned again to what can one do? But then it shifted to “What can we do?” They started to realize the power of many, the power of their voice. A petition began almost immediately and talks of organizing a march on the state capital followed suit. The spark ignited and as students dispersed, they took their anger and turned it into power, the power to affect change.
We talk about leadership not as the position you hold, but rather the difference you make. This week, I have seen some students get excited about making a difference, working for change for themselves, for their classmates, for fellow college students across the state.
So many times, I hear people talk about apathy in young people. Sometimes we label it apathy because they don’t come to our events or do things that we think they should. We think it’s apathy because they aren’t motivated by the same things that motivated us, or connect to others in the same ways we connected.
But I don’t see apathy. I see students who care very deeply, who want to make their mark on the world, and to leave the world a bit better. I see students who have a spark inside of them waiting to catch flame, waiting to be inspired, waiting for that catalyst to unleash their potential, waiting for a reason to get off the sidelines and get into the action.
For some of these students, the waiting is over; the call to action is now. And it is so exciting to see that passion in them, to see them realize that they do have a voice and can use that voice for good. It’s the voice of generations of students before them and the voice of generations to follow. It’s the voice of hope and the cry for a better future.
I am proud to be a part of that, to be a supportive voice cheering them on. I support their cause, and hope they win. Even if they don’t, though, finding that voice in themselves and in each other is a far more important and long-lasting victory.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Becoming a Scrooge This Christmas
As many of you know, this year has been a challenging one for me. It has been exhausting and emotionally draining in so many ways. It has been hard. And with the coming of the Christmas season, I have struggled to get into the Christmas spirit. Sometimes I think it would be easier to get rid of all the gifts and parties and eating. Sometimes I wish I could get rid of all the noise and distractions, the shopping and the planning and particularly the shameless materialism.
What’s the point anyway of giving gifts when people often prefer gift cards? What’s the point of giving, when people give you their wish lists and tell you what to get them? What’s the point of giving when it all seems caught up in stuff? Sometimes I just start to wonder the reason behind it all.
And then I remember the reason behind it all - to celebrate the greatest gift of all, God choosing to become one of us - Emmanuel, God With Us. Suddenly all the other gifts and wish lists and parties seem to fade. All that is left is love, abundant love, extravagant love, God’s extravagant love for us given to us, first in the newborn baby Jesus and then in allowing that only beloved son to die for us. His extravagant love made a way for us to have life, eternal life and abundant life.
When I meditate on that love, I can’t help but think I want to be a Scrooge this Christmas – not the way he was at the beginning of the story, but the way he was at the end, with a heart full of Christmas, celebrating a second chance, overflowing with joy and thankfulness for all the real “gifts” in his life. I think about the woman who broke the alabaster box at Jesus’ feet and lavished the expensive perfume on Him in an incredible act of worship (John 12:1-3). I think I want to find a way to be like that this Christmas.
Beyond everything else, I want to find a way to lavishly worship, to extravagantly pour out my love to Him and for Him. I suspect that kind of worship doesn’t require money or parties or food. It probably doesn’t even require a tree or decorations, even though those are nice. I suspect that all it requires a willing and open heart, a heart full of God’s love for me and overflowing with His joy, His hope, His peace.
Wow, I suddenly feel a little more ready to celebrate Christmas…maybe even “scrooge-like.”
As Tiny Tim says, “May God bless us everyone!” May He bless us as we worship Him this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas!
What’s the point anyway of giving gifts when people often prefer gift cards? What’s the point of giving, when people give you their wish lists and tell you what to get them? What’s the point of giving when it all seems caught up in stuff? Sometimes I just start to wonder the reason behind it all.
And then I remember the reason behind it all - to celebrate the greatest gift of all, God choosing to become one of us - Emmanuel, God With Us. Suddenly all the other gifts and wish lists and parties seem to fade. All that is left is love, abundant love, extravagant love, God’s extravagant love for us given to us, first in the newborn baby Jesus and then in allowing that only beloved son to die for us. His extravagant love made a way for us to have life, eternal life and abundant life.
When I meditate on that love, I can’t help but think I want to be a Scrooge this Christmas – not the way he was at the beginning of the story, but the way he was at the end, with a heart full of Christmas, celebrating a second chance, overflowing with joy and thankfulness for all the real “gifts” in his life. I think about the woman who broke the alabaster box at Jesus’ feet and lavished the expensive perfume on Him in an incredible act of worship (John 12:1-3). I think I want to find a way to be like that this Christmas.
Beyond everything else, I want to find a way to lavishly worship, to extravagantly pour out my love to Him and for Him. I suspect that kind of worship doesn’t require money or parties or food. It probably doesn’t even require a tree or decorations, even though those are nice. I suspect that all it requires a willing and open heart, a heart full of God’s love for me and overflowing with His joy, His hope, His peace.
Wow, I suddenly feel a little more ready to celebrate Christmas…maybe even “scrooge-like.”
As Tiny Tim says, “May God bless us everyone!” May He bless us as we worship Him this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Learning to sweat the small stuff
There are so many strategies (and a very popular book) that exists to help us learn how to not sweat the small stuff, how to keep all the mundane details of life from overwhelming us, how to de-stress and focus on what’s really important. And it’s true, sometimes the insignificant things in our daily lives weigh us down, frustrate us, and seem to be completely frustrating.
I had one of those kind of days yesterday. I walk in the door to our office suite after the long Thanksgiving holiday only to discover a fuse had shorted out, cutting off the power to the refrigerator, shutting down the computer network across campus, and to make matters worse, disabling the coffee pot for the morning. After my boss cleaned out the freezer, and the IT people restored connectivity… I discovered the day was just beginning. The network outage screwed up the links in our newly implemented online course evaluations and all the links had to be re-done manually; my classroom door was locked; my co-instructor didn’t show up; the computer didn’t work in class… and before I knew it, the day was just mildly chaotic (and that’s an understatement). Go ahead, laugh... I know you want to!
As the day’s events started to pile on, I lamented the lack of an office door to shut the world out and recover in peace and solitude. Students came by all happy about the impending end of the semester, all excited to share about their breaks, all peppy wanting to hear about mine. One by one, I blew them off and ignored them. One by one I tried to explain that it was a bad time, that I needed to focus and to re-group, that I would catch up with them later.
Then, it happened. Two of my co-workers were out shopping for a project they were working on and they returned with peppermint milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A. Wow, those are good shakes! And words cannot express how much that small act made a difference in my day. It was a small and unexpected act of kindness that quickly became the bright spot in my day, for sure. It didn’t even phase me when I went on to spill some of said milkshake on my dry clean only, nice dress pants. Maybe I even just smiled at that point.
Yes, sometimes it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the small stuff of life. But as I was thinking about my day later, I also began to wonder if sometimes life isn’t in the small stuff. Maybe life is not always about the big picture and the big tasks that God gives us to do. Maybe sometimes it is more about the little stuff, how we handle (or don’t handle) all the little mishaps along the way; maybe it is about the little celebrations and acts of kindness that we do for others that truly demonstrate our faithfulness and our heart.
I look back at the chaotic events of yesterday, and I realize how quickly I became caught up in everything that happened to me, how quickly I abandoned the conversations and joys that I have with students. And then I also realized how much of a difference the small but thoughtful act by my coworkers made in my day. And I wonder who made the most difference. That’s an easy answer.
I want to learn to sweat the small stuff… to be faithful in the small stuff, to be thoughtful and compassionate, to show God’s love in small ways, just as much as in the larger positions and service that I do.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much, and whoever is dishonest with very little, will also be dishonest with very much.” – Luke 16:10 NIV
I had one of those kind of days yesterday. I walk in the door to our office suite after the long Thanksgiving holiday only to discover a fuse had shorted out, cutting off the power to the refrigerator, shutting down the computer network across campus, and to make matters worse, disabling the coffee pot for the morning. After my boss cleaned out the freezer, and the IT people restored connectivity… I discovered the day was just beginning. The network outage screwed up the links in our newly implemented online course evaluations and all the links had to be re-done manually; my classroom door was locked; my co-instructor didn’t show up; the computer didn’t work in class… and before I knew it, the day was just mildly chaotic (and that’s an understatement). Go ahead, laugh... I know you want to!
As the day’s events started to pile on, I lamented the lack of an office door to shut the world out and recover in peace and solitude. Students came by all happy about the impending end of the semester, all excited to share about their breaks, all peppy wanting to hear about mine. One by one, I blew them off and ignored them. One by one I tried to explain that it was a bad time, that I needed to focus and to re-group, that I would catch up with them later.
Then, it happened. Two of my co-workers were out shopping for a project they were working on and they returned with peppermint milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A. Wow, those are good shakes! And words cannot express how much that small act made a difference in my day. It was a small and unexpected act of kindness that quickly became the bright spot in my day, for sure. It didn’t even phase me when I went on to spill some of said milkshake on my dry clean only, nice dress pants. Maybe I even just smiled at that point.
Yes, sometimes it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the small stuff of life. But as I was thinking about my day later, I also began to wonder if sometimes life isn’t in the small stuff. Maybe life is not always about the big picture and the big tasks that God gives us to do. Maybe sometimes it is more about the little stuff, how we handle (or don’t handle) all the little mishaps along the way; maybe it is about the little celebrations and acts of kindness that we do for others that truly demonstrate our faithfulness and our heart.
I look back at the chaotic events of yesterday, and I realize how quickly I became caught up in everything that happened to me, how quickly I abandoned the conversations and joys that I have with students. And then I also realized how much of a difference the small but thoughtful act by my coworkers made in my day. And I wonder who made the most difference. That’s an easy answer.
I want to learn to sweat the small stuff… to be faithful in the small stuff, to be thoughtful and compassionate, to show God’s love in small ways, just as much as in the larger positions and service that I do.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with very much, and whoever is dishonest with very little, will also be dishonest with very much.” – Luke 16:10 NIV
Sunday, November 29, 2009
And more...
It seems like forever ago that I started this blog, and quite awhile since I have revisited it. But as I continue to seek clarity from God in my life, I think back to the lessons I learned by writing and sharing, by intentionally pouring through scriptures and trying to capture the meaning it had for my life. It was amazing how God used those verses, used conversations with you, used that time in my life for His good, to bring healing and peace, and to connect with others. What I realized is that the same needs I felt for clarity and peace then, are the same needs I still have day by day, not just in relationships but in every aspect of my life - work, church, service, friends, and family.
Sometimes I feel lost, drifting along without any clear sense of God's direction, of what the right answer is. I find myself confused and not knowing which direction to go. But God is not the author of confusion. His Word says over and over again that He will guide our steps and direct our paths, that He has plans for our lives and plans for good, plans for abundant and eternal life in Him. Wow... I want that. I want to diligently seek it, as for silver or gold, I want to pursue it, to press on toward the prize, to be useful to Him and to walk in the center of His will.
I don't know where this journey leads. I know that I want to intentionally seek Him every step of the way. I know that I want to invite you to join me on the journey, to share your insights, to ask for your prayers, to pass along scriptures that speak to you, and to see what God has in store for us together.
This weekend I had an incredible conversation with two close friends. Through that conversation we realized that all three of us were facing a similar situation and similar struggles. We're close friends, but we never realized it. We never talked about it before, but suddenly we found ourselves talking about it. It was amazing the relief and the encouragement that came from the conversation, from knowing that we were not alone, and looking at scripture together and praying about it together. There is such tremendous power in that. I've experienced it over and over again, what God can do when we break down barriers and dare to share our lives with each other.
That's what I want this blog to be, a way to share my journey with others, and to invite you to share yours with me. Will you join me?
Sometimes I feel lost, drifting along without any clear sense of God's direction, of what the right answer is. I find myself confused and not knowing which direction to go. But God is not the author of confusion. His Word says over and over again that He will guide our steps and direct our paths, that He has plans for our lives and plans for good, plans for abundant and eternal life in Him. Wow... I want that. I want to diligently seek it, as for silver or gold, I want to pursue it, to press on toward the prize, to be useful to Him and to walk in the center of His will.
I don't know where this journey leads. I know that I want to intentionally seek Him every step of the way. I know that I want to invite you to join me on the journey, to share your insights, to ask for your prayers, to pass along scriptures that speak to you, and to see what God has in store for us together.
This weekend I had an incredible conversation with two close friends. Through that conversation we realized that all three of us were facing a similar situation and similar struggles. We're close friends, but we never realized it. We never talked about it before, but suddenly we found ourselves talking about it. It was amazing the relief and the encouragement that came from the conversation, from knowing that we were not alone, and looking at scripture together and praying about it together. There is such tremendous power in that. I've experienced it over and over again, what God can do when we break down barriers and dare to share our lives with each other.
That's what I want this blog to be, a way to share my journey with others, and to invite you to share yours with me. Will you join me?
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Day 50 - Breaking Fast & Going Forward
Fifty days ago, I began a journey to intentionally seek God’s will in my life in the area of relationships. I was heartbroken and hurting, in need of God’s healing, His peace, His restoration in my life. I wanted to know His heart, His love, His desires and also how to live those out in integrity not just with dating relationships, but with family, friends, co-workers, everyone in my circle of life.
I started with a list of passages and themes, but I didn’t really know where He would lead. Maybe I thought I would end up justified, that I was right or had the right answers. That’s a laugh, for sure, as seeking God is always a humbling experience reminding me that He is God and I am not.
Instead I found God challenging me, challenging my thoughts about what it means to love, how to make intentional decisions, how to trust Him to write the script in my life. Even more so, I found Him asking me to be content where I am, focusing single-mindedly on Him, even while in the midst of pursuing His will and His plans for the future. I found Him reminding me that is He is the great healer, the One who can do abundantly more than we could think or imagine, the One whose ways are much higher than our ways, and the One that can redeem any kind of painful circumstance in our lives and bring radical good out of it for His glory and to accomplish His purposes.
I am thankful for the truths of His word, that the Bible isn’t just empty words on a page, but words that speak directly to my life, to my needs and my questions and my crises. I am thankful it always points me to God who is in complete control and who cares intimately about me and about each of us.
I’ve had several people ask me about what is next. And the truth is I don’t have that answer either. But as I seek to apply these truths in my life, I am trusting God to give me wisdom to make the right decisions about dating and to both guide and guard my heart as I try to live those truths out with integrity.
Psalm 147:11 says “The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Going forward, I want Him to be able to delight in my life, and I want to be able to put my hope in His love, a love that never fails. I certainly do not think I am there yet, but I know the journey of getting there is incredibly worth it.
Thank you for being a part of this chapter of my life and for encouraging me in this journey. It has been cool to have conversations with old friends and new through this process, reflecting, connecting, and even sometimes disagreeing over my thoughts. It is great to share life together with others.
May God bless…
erin
I started with a list of passages and themes, but I didn’t really know where He would lead. Maybe I thought I would end up justified, that I was right or had the right answers. That’s a laugh, for sure, as seeking God is always a humbling experience reminding me that He is God and I am not.
Instead I found God challenging me, challenging my thoughts about what it means to love, how to make intentional decisions, how to trust Him to write the script in my life. Even more so, I found Him asking me to be content where I am, focusing single-mindedly on Him, even while in the midst of pursuing His will and His plans for the future. I found Him reminding me that is He is the great healer, the One who can do abundantly more than we could think or imagine, the One whose ways are much higher than our ways, and the One that can redeem any kind of painful circumstance in our lives and bring radical good out of it for His glory and to accomplish His purposes.
I am thankful for the truths of His word, that the Bible isn’t just empty words on a page, but words that speak directly to my life, to my needs and my questions and my crises. I am thankful it always points me to God who is in complete control and who cares intimately about me and about each of us.
I’ve had several people ask me about what is next. And the truth is I don’t have that answer either. But as I seek to apply these truths in my life, I am trusting God to give me wisdom to make the right decisions about dating and to both guide and guard my heart as I try to live those truths out with integrity.
Psalm 147:11 says “The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Going forward, I want Him to be able to delight in my life, and I want to be able to put my hope in His love, a love that never fails. I certainly do not think I am there yet, but I know the journey of getting there is incredibly worth it.
Thank you for being a part of this chapter of my life and for encouraging me in this journey. It has been cool to have conversations with old friends and new through this process, reflecting, connecting, and even sometimes disagreeing over my thoughts. It is great to share life together with others.
May God bless…
erin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)