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.