Student Blog - Better to be in the Mountains than just Looking at them.

Howdy guys, I hope everyone has had a good semester so far, and good luck to everyone on their upcoming exams. I was thinking about what to write and it dawned on me that one of this year’s themes here at Wesley was “change”. So I figure that’s as good of subject as any to talk about. As I mentioned in my leadership themed message just after spring break, a leader should seek significant change in trying to better his organization. With the school year coming to a close, some of us will indeed face significant change. A month from now, I’ll be on my way to sleep in a tent all summer in the mountains that I am flying over as I type now. Some of us will be moving on either to other schools or to getting a full time job in the workforce. These are indeed significant changes. But what I want to talk to all of you about are the changes that can be made to improve the Wesley foundation when we all reconvene in the fall.  

This fall’s theme was “Embrace the Change”. Forgive me, maybe it is just my failing eyesight here in my old age, but I was quite a bit unsure at what I was supposed to be embracing. New people are a form of change, I suppose I could go around hugging all the new people. But, I feel like that has been tried in the past to mixed reviews… I mean, I guess I could embrace the new color on the bathroom walls or the new name of the Wednesday worship service, but I’m not really sure how to embrace that, nor am I sure how that even constitutes a change. After all, “What’s in a name?...”. All in all, I thought things appeared to pretty much run the same as they always have. I still see new people walk out without being greeted by anyone, people still don’t give others the time of day if it disagrees with their own idea, leaders setting a poor example, and people still won’t sacrifice their personal time to help anyone but their significant other.

But enough about the past, this year is practically over, so I want to focus on next year, and in doing so I want to propose a slightly different mantra. Rather than “Embrace the Change”, how about something on the lines of “God will change you from the inside out”. As stated earlier, many of us will be leaving College Station for the summer, and many of us will also have much more free time on our hands than we do during the semester when we are all so poor at managing time. I just want to urge everyone to take advantage of all that free time and take a look inside yourself. What things can we change as an individual that will help make Wesley more like the image God had in mind when he created us, aka how can we improve ourselves to help us better show God’s love to each other, new incoming students, and the community? After all, “If I speak in the tongues… of angels, but have not love, I am only a clanging cymbal. If I can…. fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing”.

All of us have things that we can change in our lives to make us more like Jesus. Maybe it’s that we’re selfish or too arrogant to truly listen to others sometimes. Maybe we have anger issues or cannot control our tongue. Maybe we have issues with sexual immorality or covetousness. Maybe we are lazy or quarrelsome. Maybe we simply lack the faith to step outside of our comfort zone. The list goes on (for a more exhaustive list of things where each of us has room for improvement, please see the Bible for reference) but there are traits in all of us that could obviously use some work, and all of these individual failures detract from the experience that those around us have when they come to the Wesley Foundation. True none of us can achieve perfection, but we are to be moving toward perfection and are called to run the race in a way that we may win the prize, and the further from perfection that each one of us is, the further from perfection our organization is.

In summary, please take some time this summer for some introspection. We have googols of great opportunities here at the Wesley Foundation, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few… Beseech the Lord to send workers into His harvest”. We must prepare ourselves to be sent into the harvest as workers in the Lord’s kingdom. Besides, the peace of Christ passes all comprehension. In addition to helping out the Wesley Foundation and our fellow classmates, we will all be more free to live life to the fullest with the peace and joy of Christ. That’s a change I can embrace. 

Student Blog - Little Things

Got a little story for ya, Ags!

 A couple of weeks ago, I had an interview for a summer internship in Houston.  I was really nervous, and honestly I wasn't very excited about it (I'm sure you've had that feeling- who likes interviews, right?).  I wasn't really paying attention while I was driving so I ended up taking the wrong exit off the highway.   To make matters worse there was a man soliciting for money at the red light where I was trying to make a U-turn.

Great.

Of course I was at the front of the line, so he came up to my car and I rolled down my window.  It turned out the man was collecting money for a church who ran a drug recovery program and was trying to keep it open, so I decided to go ahead and give him a few dollars.  He was SO thankful.  He gave me a bottle of water (which was great- I was pretty thirsty) and started chatting with me about my day and where I was going, so of course I told him that I was going to an interview.  He congratulated me and started to walk away, but then he came back and said the last words that I ever expected to come out of his mouth.

"Can I pray with you?"

So I ended up at an intersection holding a complete stranger's hand while he prayed for me.  While he has probably long forgotten me, that man's gesture touched me more deeply than he could ever know.  In fact, I went back to that intersection after my interview to let him know how it went, but he was gone.

My challenge for you this week is to go out of your way to do something nice/unexpected for someone, whether it be a friend or a stranger.  John 13:34-35 says:

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Random acts of kindness are a great way to show this love, especially as we approach the end of the school year and stresses are running a little higher than usual.  I hope that you all have a great week.  We're almost done!

Bonnie

Student Blog - I’m Thinking of Lilies and Birds

When the course schedule for the following semester is posted, there is always a sudden cease of productivity. We get caught up in planning the next load instead of trying to conquer the one right in front of us. This is especially true for me, since I have a tendency to get caught up in planning my entire life. But if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, is that life is too arbitrary to plan every minute detail.

Last summer, I decided it would be a good idea to look over my degree plan just to see what I needed to take in order to graduate. When I saw that I had less than I’d originally thought, I freaked. It was looking like I was going to graduate early. And I did NOT want any part of that. So I thought and thought and thought about what I could do in order to prevent this from happening. The solution seemed obvious. I needed to add a new minor.

So here I am, almost a year later, trying to complete a minor that gives me more trouble than it’s worth, and I’m not so sure that I’ll even use it. Now it’s time to face the truth: I’m graduating in two semesters whether I like it or not. I’ve never prepared myself beyond that point, and that’s why I think I’ve been so afraid. I can’t see everything that lies ahead of me, and I’m never totally able to trust that everything is going to be completely fine.

But that’s not how it’s supposed to work. Nothing in life is guaranteed. God doesn’t promise riches. He doesn’t promise academic success. And He certainly doesn’t give us the answers we want the moment we want them. Even though these things aren’t certain, we are promised to be loved, and we are promised to be cared for.

“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Luke 12:27

When we consider how much greater God created us compared to the rest of Creation, we know that we will be taken care of no matter what comes our way. Giving your life to God may seem risky, but at the end of it all, everything will turn out better than anything we could have planned on our own.

Shelby Olive

Student Blog - Running from God by Running for God

     It sounds absurd at first when you think about the title, running away by serving God, and it is under normal circumstances. Usually Christians try to show their faith through service, no matter how big or small, and normally they get some spiritual growth out of it too. However, just like eating dessert for every meal, there is a limit on what you can do as a follower of Christ without endangering your spiritual health. By doing too much, we can limit ourselves spiritually through the sheer volume of obligations and our own fatigue.

     Before we dive too much into detail I should clarify that I believe James 2:14-26 to be accurate and that one should have both faith and works for a strong relationship with God. That being said, the scripture states that without one, the other is not enough to live a Christian life. James 2:14-26 states:

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.  

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. 

     As you can see your relationship with God has a balance to it, kind of like a set of scales, or platform on top of a single pole (think Indiana Jones styled booby trap). If you put too much weight onto one side then the device becomes off balanced and everything falls. This works the same way with your faith and service. If you put too much time into doing works for God, you leave very little, if any, time for scripture and faith.

     Right now at Wesley, we are very busy, in fact we are so busy that this semester there are only 3 weekends where something isn’t going on (and two have passed already). Adding on school work, relationships, and other organizations, leaves us very little time for a break, let alone spend large amounts of quality time with God. I know saying this makes this post feel like I’m targeting someone in particular so I’d like to explain a bit. When I was way younger (think just able to drive, scary thought) my youth minister at the time had a sermon on how the church as a whole tends to ignore Matthew 7:3 ( “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?). Instead, it likes to pretend the congregation is perfect and that they’re above others because they go to church and do the “right” thing. I have taken that sermon to heart and have expanded the idea to include Matthew 7:4-5 as well. So again to clarify, this is not an attack on anyone but instead a way to send a message while identifying one of the many planks in my eye.

     Personally I love doing good deeds for others, and if one needs me I’m always a phone call or text away. However, I tend to have a very bad habit of overexerting myself to the point in which if I were in the Hunger Games I would have volunteered as tribute before Prim’s name was even drawn. Now this isn’t always a bad thing and I’ve truly had some remarkable experiences, but looking back I have taken some serious steps back in my faith journey. My choir director back home used to tell us it wasn’t about what we’ve done churchwise, it was about how much we’ve grown spiritually. And in the past year and a half at Wesley, I’ve done so much that if I listed it all out this post would be twice as long as it will be. That being said, my faith has probably regresses a bit. (To be honest this post would probably be the first step forward I’ve made in a long time) Before I used to pray, not so much out loud but at least privately, I attempted to read the bible on a regular schedule, and I spent time reflecting on my faith. Today however, I hardly pray at all, my bible has a layer of dust on it, and there is hardly time at all to even consider the first two items of this list, let alone my faith. I have actually begun to run away from God, and what he was trying to tell me, by ironically doing deeds, services, and acting as a Christian should (mostly on that last one). This is not good, for me, for those who look to me as Christian, and for my relationship with God.

     Jeremiah 29:13 states “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Therefore, one who is too busy to find God, or simply too exhausted, cannot find him, even if they are too busy doing services for the Lord himself. You see there is a balance that must be struck and rest is indeed encouraged (I believe it’s called a Sabbath), but not so that one can simply rest and slack off. There’s more to it, it was made for man to allow an opportunity to spend some time reflecting, praying, and building a relationship with God.

     I now leave you with this challenge, a challenge I myself have recently taken. Examine all that you do, and then examine how much you’ve grown spiritually in the past year. See if you have a balance or if something is missing. If something is missing, then figure out a way to fill the void. If you have the balance you desire then excellent, but either way find ways to improve your spiritual growth and actually do them. Find someone or something to keep you accountable and in another year start over, because as humans we can never be perfect, but we can try to get as close as possible. Finally I want you to never stop running for God, but never run away.

-Wes

Getting Back Into A Routine

Spring semester is the busiest semester, with Wesley events, sporting events, retreats, and then fitting school into all of that, it becomes pretty tiring. Spring break comes at just the right time, and Work Project this year was so incredible and so much fun. We got back from Crowley, Louisiana on Thursday and the majority of all the Wesleyites go back home to visit family for a few days. It wasn't until I woke up this morning and realized how much I lost my routine, how hard it was to wake up, to exercise, to remember what my schedule was. We are all so busy, and go, go, go and then Spring Break is a time to relax and we get off our usual routine. We eat whatever we want because we are on vacation, as a Wesley student put it; everything is calorie free when you are on a vacation, or having a bad day, especially chocolate. The ability to follow a normal long-lasting routine requires more than just self-discipline and determination. It also requires the establishment of habits. We need to get into the habit of waking up at a certain time, and following through with our morning routine completing our most important tasks for the day before we move on to others. This is the same thing as our spiritual routines. Just as we can get into healthy physical activities like running, we can get into healthy spiritual routines like setting aside a time to pray or praise God. In Psalm 143:8 David says 

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for to you I entrust my life.”

He is saying that the morning time is the right time to praise God and ask for His direction. The morning is, for the most part, a fixed schedule for every day. I know when I try to put this off for the night, I either never get them done and wait till the morning and/or last minute or I just don’t do it at all. This happens when studying for tests, writing papers, exercising, whatever needs to get done, but if I put it into my morning schedule I am more likely to do it every day. Like wake up, exercise, shower, eat breakfast, do my quiet time, get ready for work. Boom. Bang. Done. And if something goes wrong that day, or I don’t do one of those morning activities my day feels off. It took me ffffoooorrrreeevvver to get into this routine, it took me a few months but I worked out. Spiritual routines are the same way and could be compared to the habit of running. The more regularly you work out, the more you want to do it, and staying in shape is much easier that getting in shape. If you pray, read the Word on a regular basis it because a habit and something you look forward to and if you don’t do it every day, your day just doesn't feel complete. So I challenge you to make a habit of praying to God a certain time or having a regular quiet time and make a daily routine and devote time to God.

Lindsey R.

Student Blog - The Sound of Music

I have never really been one to listen to Christian music. It's not that I don't like it, I really enjoy it on Sundays and Wednesdays, but I don't want to listen to it in my spare time. I've had KSBJ programmed into my radio ever since I got my car, but up until a few weeks ago I had only actually pressed the button a few times. There's better things on the radio anyway, right?

Wrong.

On a whim, I began listening to KSBJ a few weeks ago and heard that they were advocating a '30-Day Challenge' in which you listen only to KSBJ for 30 days and see how it "changes your life". I haven't taken up their challenge, but I have been listening to KSBJ a LOT more lately. And you know what? I like it. It's a great way to start my day, and it fills my thoughts with positive messages of God's love and grace. Do you ever actually listen to the lyrics to songs on mainstream radio stations? I enjoy Ke$ha and Pitbull as much as anyone, but holy cow. It's easy to sing along and to say that it's ok because I'm just saying the words and not following the ideals presented. But according to Jesus, "...whatever comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles" (Matthew 15:18).

How can we expect to have Godly hearts when we are voluntarily filling our ears with non-Godly messages? And even worse, how can we expect to become more Christ-like when such messages are coming out of our mouths?

This week, I would like to offer you a challenge. Listen to KSBJ on your way to work or to school in the morning, and see if it makes a difference in your day-to-day life.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful week. Stay strong! Spring Break is right around the corner!!!

Bonnie

Student Blog - Wait, What?

Kirsten here.  I just did a “Kirsten wave” to all you blog readers and if you know me, you know what that means. So I have decided that I am a conversational blogger, as in I am just writing this kind of like I talk, not mulling over word choices or anything, just going.  Hope that’s okay, because that’s the way it is J

I am typing this blog from a crowded coffee shop.  It is an excellent place to people watch.  On top of that, I am sitting here with earphones in, but not listening to any music, so I can hear what’s going on around me.  There are all kinds of people around.  People who come to do serious studying, people who come for the coffee, people who come to visit with friends, and people who come with the intention of studying, but easily get distracted by coffee and friends.  One girl is sitting by the window shopping for purses and I think a job interview is being conducted behind me.  Does this make me a creeper?  I feel like a creeper.  Oh well. 

Anyway, the point is that there is a lot going on in this coffee shop and there even more happening that I don’t see and perhaps unconsciously ignore….

Here, watch this video…….

If you have seen that one before and it was too easy for you, watch this one…..

How did you do?

There are a few other interesting studies that these researches conducted.  They all make me feel kind of dumb for missing things, but it begs the question, how much stuff do I miss in my day to day life? 

Talking in a more spiritual sense, these tests make me question how often I miss God’s beauty, His actions and His guidance in my day to day life.

 

In the videos, it is much easier to catch the gorilla and the other changes made after you are told about them and re-watch the video.  In the same way, it is easier to see how God has worked in our lives retrospectively.

The truth is that God is always at work in our lives whether we acknowledge it or not.  What might I see when I actually open my eyes and look for Him working in the world?  I might see his joy and his love through others and through all kinds of situations.  I could see it and immediately thank and praise God for it, without waiting until I take the time to reflect upon it (which actually happens very seldom with me). We may not be in the Garden of Eden, taking a walk with our heavenly Father every day, but His presence is real. The Holy Spirit is with us always.

 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”   -- John 14:15-20

This week, don’t just be a part of the coffee shop world.  The world where so much goes unnoticed.  The world that does not see or know.  I challenge you to open your eyes and your heart to the Spirit and see what He is doing in your life.

The Spirit of Peace and Truth be with you!

-Kirsten

Student Blog - The Breath of God

As humans, we should all understand that breathing is somewhat important. Our breath is what keeps us alive, being distributed to every living part of our bodies so that we can simply exist. But beyond that, the air is a somewhat all-encompassing in nature, embodying so many different ideas that it’s difficult to name them all. Of course, as an English major, that won’t stop me from naming some. The air moves, acting as the breeze that warms or cools us when it meets our skin, the gust that fills our sails, and the wind that uproots even the oldest trees. For one thing, the air, to have so many different aspects yet still serve such a fundamental role in our lives is remarkable and beautiful, a fantastic demonstration of the beauty of the natural world.

The sun is the same way, giving us light so that we can see our path but starting fires because of its intensity. Water sooths our parched mouths but also rises up into unconquerable waves, battering our ships until they eventually yield and fall into destruction, and the rocks act as building material for our homes while also blocking our paths.

 So many things in our lives seem to serve two contrary purposes, both helping and hurting us, but is it possible that we get preoccupied with that and miss all of the blessings? The natural world is a beautiful and seemingly untamable thing, and we have to keep in mind that everything, from the vast oceans to the smallest grains of sand, was made by God. We also have to keep in mind that we each are included in that set and that we are the hand-made creations of the living God, who stands unique amongst the untamable truths of the world in that, as is stated in The Chronicles of Narnia, while he may not be tame, he is good.

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NASB

 The same God that created the Heavens and the Earth, who created the air and the sun and the water and the stones, breathed his breath of life into our lungs. That image is intensely tangible, so sensory in nature that we can almost feel it. Breathe in deeply and hold the air in your lungs, and imagine if that air, which we need to survive, was divinely breathed, sweeter than any honey and more filling than any feast. And now, with that in mind, remember that that is exactly what we have, given to us at the moment of our creation! What a wonderful thought.

 My prayer for all of you this week is that as you go, you do so fueled by the breath of God, knowing that he is the wind in our sails, the breeze that keeps us cool, and the sustaining air of life.


-Zac Langer

Bread Was A Bad Choice...

Last Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, was the best/ worst day ever. My friends and I decided that since it was Fat Tuesday we should eat chocolate cake and watch the Princess and the Frog since its based in New Orleans and a Mardi Gras parade. At one point, my friend Mattie and I made the dumb decision to give up bread for Lent. Lent is usually about giving up a small pleasure and offering that sacrifice up to God or to turn our life back towards what God wants us. Now we totally are not Catholic, and did it mainly to see if we could do it, we have to consciously think about it, and it was definitely a challenge. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. We ate everything in Matte's kitchen that was breaded, pizza, chicken strips, all of it, and I totally got sick afterwards. It was very unpleasant. Since bread was a vague term we made the agreement that bread was: tortillas bread, rolls, biscuits, breaded chicken, cake, pita bread, and pie. When I told another friend about this, Morgan, she wanted in on the action too. So Morgan, Mattie, and me have been struggling for these past few days on what to eat. I have realized that you do not know how much you eat something until you can't eat it anymore. Every Thursday, one of our Maroon & White Corps members, Mrs. Dixon, brings the best blueberry muffins and Mattie said she ate one bite threw it away and told me that muffins are bread and we can't eat them. Then I had to text Morgan to tell her to add it to the list. Same thing happened this weekend when we went to All-Campus retreat. Our choir director, Rachel Markham, graciously bought us two donuts, and a kolache each and I had to tell her the sad truth about what we were doing and texted Morgan about it, and texted us back saying JESUS DIED ON A CROSS FOR YOU!!! FOR YOU!! And then proceeded to ask, if pop tarts were considered a bread, and we said yes. If we have to suffer through a car ride of smelling delicious donuts, then you can skip breakfast. By now you are probably wondering how our definition of bread works, well I have no idea. We just kind of text each other and ask if this is considered a bread. I have realized how much accountability works and how much it means to me.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up”!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing”.

Accountability is a huge part of the Christian faith and building quality and deep relationships that will help us in our faith and in our life. An accountability partner is not a therapist, that you ask questions of and seek answers from. An accountability partner is someone who is willing to consider the desires and wishes of another before there own. It's not a therapy session, where it is one sided, or a time to catch up and talk about the latest gossip. It is about going beyond the mundane and surface-level conversations and allowing someone to see inside of you, to see past the smokescreens that we put up. God places people in our lives to see things that we cannot see, and to encourage and build up, to correct, love and protect us.


I know for me having that simple accountability of a friend in keeping me focused on my eating habits, made me realize how powerful it is. I am independent women *cue the Destiny's Child song* who likes to deal with my problems on my own. Giving up bread was just a stubborn challenge, which was a dumb idea, but it is turning into something much more than that. Every time I think, complain, or talk about bread I pray about it, and focused on how much Christ gave up for me and focus more on him. So yeah, I guess I am participating in Lent, my beginning intentions were not, but now I know I need my friends to encourage me and God's strength to help me. This small act of giving up bread has already impacted my life already and it's only been five days.


If we all have a willingness to surrender ourselves, all of our problems and weaknesses to God and choose to make ourselves accountable to others, we will all experience a freedom and power we have never known before.


Wishing God's best for you,
                               Lindsey R.

A friend loves you all the time, and a brother helps in time of trouble  -.Proverbs 17:17

Student Blog - Real Life.

Howdy!

My name is Raye Harrington and I am a senior Visualization major. Visualization encompasses all kinds of computer based design from graphic design to animation. I lean toward the graphics side rather than the animation one. I am also the Women’s Chair at Wesley and teach the Women’s bible study.

The fall of my junior year, I went to Australia for a semester abroad. I lived and studied in Brisbane, Queensland for four months. I attended Queensland University of Technology. While I was there, I joined QUT Christians, a Christian group that is very similar to Wesley. They were a wonderful group of people that I loved getting to know and hang out with while I was halfway around the world.

Last week, QUT Christians posted this promo video that posed some questions: Whose real world are you training for? Where is “real” found in life? Who is “real life” really about?

Real Life. Real World. These things are talked and thought about a lot in college since college is the last step before being a full-fledged adult. And that time is upon me as I am graduating in May. But my real is found when I walk in the door at Wesley. There I find godly friends that are always there to listen and a church family that supports me no matter what. And they keep me accountable and strong in my faith which is the rock that my real sits on. And even though I won’t be at Wesley forever, I know that my real will never waiver.

At the end of the video, it says “Jesus is the one who really gives real life.” And he is. He gave his life so we could have one. Whose real world am I training for? I am training for God’s world and real is found in Christ. Real life is about giving your life to God and completely trusting that he is doing what is best.

“And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” –Romans 8:28

As the season of Lent starts, think about whose real world you’re training for? Where do you seek what is “real” in your life? Who is real life really about?

Thanks and Gig’em and God Bless,

Raye ‘13

Student Blog - My Friends Are My Power!

Howdy! Dominic Burke here, bringing you the hardest hitting news story yet!

Just kidding.

Seriously though. Man. This week has been CRAZY. Tests have begun, and I was so busy practicing music and getting myself super pumped up for Crunchtime this past weekend (which was SO COOL) that I definitely forgot to plan as far ahead as I normally do for exams. Don’t get me wrong, I procrastinate, but usually I’m better at spacing out my stress. Physics and Organic Chemistry homework, plus tests in both (man oh man circuitry is weird), Statistics homework, Health notes, Lab reports… Of course, this is on top of resolving drama between my friends, trying to figure out where in the WORLD I’m going with my life, and my future, and—

Okay, hold up.

Yes, life is stressful. Yes, life is crazy. Yes, time can seem to just slip on by without you even noticing until oh that's what the sunrise looks like. But look at my week again. I spent the weekend with a group of amazing individuals praising God with music and teaching youngsters (because I’m so beyond high school. Psh. Yeah.) to keep the faith in college. I’ve got study partners, especially in my laboratory periods, that have seriously been stellar. My friends, Wesley members and otherwise, have been building me up, calming me down, and keeping me going. I have people around me that care, that are here for me in my times of trouble, just as I'm ready to help them (even if they drive me crazy).

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

God has brought some amazing, wondrous, astounding (one could even say fantastic) people into my life. Today, this week, and all the time, take a moment to appreciate those people that make life what it is: beautiful.

-Dom

Owl I See is God's Work Around Me

Hello. (I thought that was a good way to start.) My name is Lindsey and I am one of the interns at the Wesley Foundation at Texas A&M. Some things you need to know about me, I am slightly obsessed with owls, sharks fascinate me, I am trying to make fetch happen (Mean Girls quote), I love to read young adult dystopian novels, and oh and yes Jesus is my homeboy.

When I was trying to figure out what to talk about in this blog, I was writing for some seminary application stuff and stumbled upon an essay I had to write about God’s work in my life. 

As humans we have a natural instinct to want to control our environment. But what if, a BIG WHAT IF, we went beyond our own understanding and trusted God to guide us? WHAT?!?!?! Is your mind blown or what?! How much more could we achieve if we just trust in God? For me, I take matters into my own hands the questions come spiraling down around me. I'm afraid to change for fear of stepping away from the path God has laid before me. So I am paralyzed, unable to move. And we know this is certainly not from God.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

We need to remember that it is God that is at work in us. God's direction must be sought to answer these questions. God has a way of raising our level of potential, until we’re shocked by our own accomplishments. It's up to us to follow His lead.

Student Blog - Blessed are the Aggies, with awesome weather today...

It's an awesome and amazing blessing to be in Aggieland today, because the weather is absolutely gorgeous!  It's days like this that always make me step back and think about the blessings in my life, because as a person who is constantly moving and traveling outside, the weather being nice is one of the greatest blessings that God can give to me.  But why is it that I only see the blessings on a beautiful day?

I think it has a lot to do with our lifestyle as students, and even as working adults.  Stress, distraction, and sin all cloud our ability to see the many, many blessings God has poured out on us.  When you're stressed about a test or assignment or at work, it can be so difficult to take even a moment to think about how the Lord has blessed you - in fact, he's blessed you with the opportunity to take those tests and have those assignments and work those jobs!  I find it ironic that I get so caught up in these types of blessings that I look past them as a gift from God and dismiss them as something I am annoyed with or weary of.  Then I wonder - What else have I been missing in my life that is a blessing from God? Sit down and think about that for a moment - if you're anything like me you'll be surprised.

On my walk outside today I soaked up the cool weather and beautiful sun rays - thanking God every step of the way. Let's take off the stress that covers us and soak up God's bountiful blessings!

Mark
IXOYE

A little thought to jump start your day!

Howdy everybody,

This is my first time to post a blog so I hope everything works out alright.  I pray that everyone is having a blessed week and that you’re not getting too stressed with the business of this semester. 

So I want to ask you all a question.  How much time do you give to God each day?  An hour? Five minutes?  Or do you find yourself falling into that rut of putting Jesus on the back burner for a little bit because your schedule is getting too busy.  Sadly, we tend to remove our personal devotional time from our lives before anything else, I’m guilty of this numerous times.  But God has told us plainly that it is in these busy and trying times we need Him most.  Matthew 6:33 states this, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  So I challenge all of you this week to remember and set time aside for God.  Do not let the troubles of the world lay siege to your life; remember to give devotion to the one who gave His life for us.  So put aside the worries about class, tests, relationship, crunchtime retreat, finances, and pick up your Bible.  Spend some time with Christ this week and I assure you things will go smoother.

Ill end with a quote by John Wesley, “It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. ”    

Blessings!

Michael McVey (The “other” intern)

Student Blog - Introduction and a sucker punch

Howdy and salutations Aggies and like hearted people!

Sorry if that was awkward - I say howdy all the time in person but it just seems so cliche when it is typed.  Regardless, welcome to the brand new Aggie Methodist Blog!  A quick synopsis of the blog:

I had the idea for the blog after snooping around on the Catholic's website - sometimes I enjoy reading them to give me a different taste of our shared faith.  It occurred to me then that we here at the +Wesley Foundation at Texas A&M (hopefully that links, if not go look it up!) do not have such an outlet of creativity and expression. So I wanted to make the blog for a couple reasons

1. Give people a reliable source of God's message through students on a weekly (or more) basis
2. Give students the chance to express their thoughts without the pressure or structure of giving a message at The Forge
3. To be cool (because let's be honest, it is just totes rad to blog)

I figure that a lot of people don't desire to speak on a Wednesday night for various reasons, so I wanted to give people the opportunity to share with this faith community their stories, insights, and feelings.  In general it is easier to share deeper thoughts and feelings in written form than out loud.  I also find that my thoughts are more coherent when put into text form - so I am excited about blogging myself. If you're interested in being a guest writer for this blog, there will be a sign up sheet at Wesley or you can contact me and we'll get you signed up.  Our current plan is to have one guest student blogger a week, and then the interns will blog regularly and Max will throw one in every now and then as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing exactly how God moves through this seemingly simple and lowly form of communication.

Now, that was just an introduction to the blog, so without further ado - I begin my first blog!

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Last night I had the great privilege of presenting the message at The Forge. (For those of you unaware, that is our Wednesday night contemporary service that meets at 7pm weekly)!  If you remember, I spoke about intentional Christianity.  We discussed what it meant to attain "complete" faith (James 2:22).  Complete, true, and living faith is supplemented by deeds and actions - therefore we must be diligent in how we conduct our lives, especially outside of Wesley.  I think that intention is a bigger word than a lot of us give credit.  Intention implies that there is a desire, a yearning to do something.  We can no longer sit around and be lackluster sluggard Christians - in fact James says that that sort of lifestyle and faith that accompanies it is dead.  Intention implies that we have a purpose as well.  To be an intentional Christian means that we are being purpose driven, and in my experience I have felt my purpose is always outwardly driven.  I am here on this planet to serve God, and you can never tell me differently.  Last night I mentioned that Wesley was not the destination but merely the vehicle - Well I tell you, we are not the passengers, we are the mechanics, pilots, flight attendants, and chauffeurs.  

As I prepared for my message last night, I was looking for an example in the Bible of God's people being intentional believers.  In the main passage (James 2:14-26) there were already two examples.  The first was Abraham and his faith in God that led him to his action to sacrifice his son Isaac.  The complete story can be found in Genesis 22.  The other example, probably lesser known, was Rahab, who in the time that Joshua sent spies to Jericho, aided and embedded them, and sent their enemies packing in the wrong direction (you can find this story in Joshua).  However, I loved the one I found on  my own, and you might have to dust off your index of where to find which books in the bible for this one.  I want to encourage you to read the book of Nehemiah, or at least chapters 1-7.  An ongoing theme throughout that part of the book is the Jews intentions to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  It amazes me, in fact, that they could be so diligent!  They were forced to have people stand guard for them at risk of being attacked, both emotionally and physically.  Insults were thrown at Nehemiah's Jews and yet the persisted.  And what do you think got them through all this?  Prayer and petition.  Purpose filled hearts and intentional living faith!  Does this story resonate with you?  I read it and I instantly think of Wesley.  How often are we ridiculed by others for our beliefs and how often do we ridicule each other?  We sometimes need to take a step back, and not let such hurt and pain phase us.  Show God's grace and love through living and complete faith, by your intentional actions, and be diligent in your purpose on this earth to do God's work.  The Jews rebuilt a whole stinking wall in 52 days, and that was thousands of years ago!!  What have we done in the last 52 days?

One final thought...

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do" James 2:18 (NIV)

Can I get an "amen" of the boo-ya variety?  James sums it up before he even gets started here, and every time I read this verse I feel like I'm sucker punched.  He makes it clear. It's what you do, not faith alone (alone is an important word, because I don't want anyone to forget that deeds without faith is alright). Don't let the things of this world distract or consume you - but instead be persistent, be diligent, be purpose filled, and be intentional in your Christian walk.  Take action and do good deeds - a hug or handshake - a prayer or a listening ear - helping old ladies across the street or with their groceries - whatever it is, do it.

~Mark

IXOYE