God Must Be Busy and Other Ridculous Assumtions

I love country music, so as I've been home on spring break I've been listening to the stations... a lot. Every time I hear the Brooks and Dunn song "God Must Be Busy", two things happen. First, I get so mad that anyone would ever make that claim and then my heart breaks as I listen to the lyrics and hear how horribly wrong they are. The attitude of the song is that of a firm belief in the 'prosperity gospel' - behave yourself and God will reward you with everything you could have ever wanted. For those of you who are still believing that, I'm sorry. It's not true. If you believe that God exists and that we're all sinners, that God in turn sent His son to die for our sins, there's no choice but to give your life wholeheartedly back to Him. The Christian life is not a 'pick and chose' deal and God is not a divine slot machine.
So, in answer to Brooks and Dunn - God isn't busy. Bad things exist because man is inherently evil. Kidnapping and wars happen, people lose those that they love. But, take a moment and think about all the hard things that have happened in your life. Think about the person you would be today if you hadn't experienced those things. An easy life is the American Dream but it produces lazy people with no character or concept of perseverance. Who wants to live like that? I know I don't. Another reason why God may seem to be busy is that man, all of mankind was made to glorify God and there are very few people on this earth who actually do or even try. So, if we weren't so busy complaining about how God isn't there to answer our prayers and actually got out there with a desire and passion to love and serve others as God called us to I think a lot of people's prayers would get answered the way they should be.


Just a little rant for y'all.

Chlorine and Christmas Trees

I've been home for a little over a week now and I already miss Ecola. The people there have become like family and I love them so much. I miss the constant fellowship and just being in an environment in which everyone's aim is to glorify God. Ecola has been so refreshing and great. I feel like I'm learning what true friendships feels like and how much there is to know about God and the Christian life. I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to come to Ecola instead of going to Western, and it scares as well as saddens me more than just a little bit that there only five short months left in the school year. Five months ago I hadn't even applied to Ecola so guess a lot can happen in five months but it's going to be so hard to say goodbye. Leaving Ecola also means that I have to think/pray about God's plan for my life and make huge decisions concerning my life in the 'real' world. On Friday, at The Way, John Mark said in his message that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things in His name - for His glory. I've heard this before and know it's true in my heart, yet it still puts a certain amount of fear in my heart. Like what if God wants me to move to Africa or the Middle East - it's hard enough for me to share my faith with my friends. I guess that's why He's God 'cause He's got it all figured out and knows how much people can handle. But still...I just can't see God using me for huge things I mean I'm just this (literally) little person and I'm so imperfect. How can God ever do something through me? For now, I think I'll just do my best to abide in Him and soak up all that these wise men who teach at Ecola have to say and let God take it from there because as much as I question and doubt I have this constant peace that God is all-knowing and all-powerful and ever present. At the end of every day, I am able to sleep well because I know that my Heavenly Father has something far greater in mind for my life than I ever imagined.

Disclaimer

To my family and friends...

For everyone that was not previously aware, I am attending Ecola Bible School in Cannon Beach, OR this school year. This change of mind/heart happened somewhere between graduation and the end of July and it's been awesome. I'm here for a change of lifestyle...to get away from the stress of academia and the fast paced secular world. I'm also here to be able to pursue God and get to know Him better. So, I've created this blog to keep y'all updated on my life outside of the burro. :)

Much love to everyone!

Week Two

I've been at Ecola for two weeks now and have completely a course in Romans and am nearly done with Old Testament Seminar (David and the nation of Israel) and Hermeneutics (Bible study methods). The test for those classes is tomorrow morning at 10 and as I write this; I'm finishing up a study session with friends. Living at the coast has been pretty fun so far, I think I've been to Seaside about twelve times. haha, maybe not twelve but definitely more than necessary. Living with three other girls in such close quarters has been an interesting experience, but it's working out. I've met so many people these past two weeks; I think I know who everyone in the school is. I've actually started picking up last names. Last Wednesday I helped out with AWANAs at North Coast Family Fellowship which was fun but I was really tired at the time, so I think I'll start working on my homework earlier this week. :) I've also been attending North Coast the last two Sundays; it's been good but I think I'll try out some of the other churches in the area before finding a new one. Being here has been a bit of a culture shock because I constantly have to remind myself that everyone here loves Jesus and is here to learn about him. It's actually pretty refreshing, but sometimes it's just weird.