My Semester in Retrospect

It's been a while.

It's amazing how much I don't feel like blogging after writing papers for class all day. Go figure, right?

Well, in any sense, I have very much missed blogging. I hope to take advantage of Christmas break to blog a little more. And since I have been in blog-hibernation for the last couple months, rather than trying to explain a hundred thoughts that have been on my mind, I am going to list the many things that I learned or thought about over the course of this past semester. Some will be serious, some not-so-serious... but they all have had some impact on my life.

What I learned (or learned again) or thought more about this semester:

• Taking classes I'm interested in, even though I don't need the credits, is one of the best decisions I could have made. It gave me a much larger work-load, but those classes have had a huge impact on me. (Urban Ministry and the Kingdom of God; Communicative Perspectives on Preaching; and yes, Intro to Int'l Ministry)
• I have an amazing core-group of friends, both at Taylor and not at Taylor. I learned a lot this semester about appreciating and pouring into those friends who I know have always been there for me and who won't turn their backs on me when I'm not doing well. I thank God daily for those friends He has blessed me with, and I'm especially glad that I have my 2010 Christian Ed graduating class to go through classes with! (Yaaaaahhhhh....)
• God is always faithful, even when I am not.
• I love doing youth ministry, and God has constantly confirmed that calling in my life. The students, staff, volunteers, and others at Oneighty youth ministry in Muncie are a constant blessing in my life and I'm honored that I get to spend so much time with all of them.
• I really like Taco Bell and I'm a sucker for a Mountain Dew. That's nothing new, but I thought I'd repeat it on here. Haha.
• Prayer is an absolute necessity. There are so many things going on around us, and spiritual warfare is constantly waging against us and the ones we love. We are missing a huge opportunity to experience the Holy Spirit's work in our lives when we choose not to pray, even when we don't know what exactly to pray for.
• Life Span Development (PSY 250) is a hard class. I just got the first C+ of my life. But it's over. Thank God.
• God cares about the poor and oppressed beyond what we in the American church are recognizing. There are a tremendous amount of verses in the Bible about money, the dangers of wealth, God's care for the poor and oppressed, and His call on believers to do something about it. This has been so huge on my heart this semester. I will probably blog soon about this important idea of having God's heart in respect to the poor.
• I had a great opportunity to preach at the Junior class Chapel this semester, and I am very grateful that they asked me to do it. I really enjoyed the chance to preach.
• Planning ahead and scheduling my life is one of my greatest strengths and also one of my greatest weaknesses. This is a new lesson I'm learning, and I'm still figuring out what to do with it.
• It's great when one of my best friends gets engaged. Congrats Matt and Amanda!
• Churches need to embrace a missional mindset and acknowledge themselves as God's embassy (to borrow a term from writer Leslie Newbigin) in the neighborhood/community God has placed them. Everyone is a missionary in the culture and society they are in right now. More on this in a future blog...
• Night classes suck. They really mess up your schedule. I hate night classes. Haha.
• Patience. Like I mentioned above, I like to plan ahead and schedule my life, so I don't do well with ambiguity. God really taught me about patience this semester.
• I love my family. I've always loved them, but I realized it more and more the past several months.

I'm sure there are several more things I've learned, but that's all for now. Enjoy the Christmas season. Cheers!