It's not that far fetched of an idea!

The unreached people of the day today is the Konda Dhora of India. They are 0.00% evangelical. And they speak Telegu.

Lavenya speaks Telegu.

Pray that she comes to know Christ so that she can go tell them in a way that we westerners could never do!

Please, Lord, make Lavenya your child and send her back to her country to tell everyone about you!

Something to ponder...

I read something today, but I can't remember who said it or how it went exactly, but this is the point that it made.

Only this generation
can reach this generation.

"Live your faith. Share your life."

It's like Thanksgiving.
On the last Thursday of November we all eat so much good food and afterwards just want to lay on the couch for a year and a half. And then someone says it, "Are you guys ready for pie?" Ugggg. You want some pie so badly because it's not every day that you get fresh autumn pie, and you know that it tastes soooo good, but you don't even want to think about putting more food into your already full tum-tum. What's a girl (or guy) to do?

That's kinda where I am right now. I have just been fed the most delicious spiritual meal that I have had in a long time. Scratch that. It has been more like a week long Indian wedding feast. I have so many good thoughts and ideas running back and forth between my heart and my head and I am trying to figure out which of these thoughts are true, which are desire, and then which are good desire, which are fleshly desire, and how do I make these thoughts into actions-or better yet, how do I make all of these newly revealed truths a lifestyle?

Ok, that's pretty much all I have. Still searching for stones.

This week in pictures.

I feel kinda weird because I had a really fun week. I need to find a balance between fun and studying and real life. Here are some pics!



Some of the people who are going to Israel and some other friends of mine went to an REI garage sale. We got there three hours before the store opened and there was already a pretty significant line. We got some pretty sweet deals, but I think that the best part was the time we spent hanging out.



Then, since we got some cheap stuff, we were all in the mood to go rock climbing. Jana (my new roomie) and I were getting dressed at the same time, and when we looked up we were wearing the same thing... climbing shorts, black t-shirt, and chacos! Haha. Here I am anchoring her while she belays Jimmy.



We tried out a route that hadn't been used in a really long time, so the rocks were slippery with dirt. Jimmy is climbing and Jana and Mike are watching.



For valentine's day the brothers brought us our favorite things! Mugs, alive flowers, and candles (and a platter...they are so practical)! It was the best thing ever! They even wrote us a very sweet note. They actually deserve their own post, but this will have to do. Thanks guys, you are the best!



Here is the mug they picked out for me. It has a picture of Da Vinci's The Last Supper. I replanted my flowers into a pot and now I get to drink out of my new favorite mug :)



Britt, this one's for you. Jon put some (valentine's candle) wax in a gash on your Fish, and we went to the beach. He actually got up on it a few times and even rode a wave with it....It can be done!



I learned a really important lesson about going to the beach that day. A lot about loving my roommates and taking Bible College seriously. I'll write about it later maybe. But now I am going to make scones for my neighbor (I borrowed her tupperware, and culturally-she is Indian- you don't return a dish empty) and then homework and a meeting about my graduation petition! AHHH

EBC

I think that they should re-name EBC the College of Enduring Biblical Construction.

Every single second I feel like I am un-learning everything I once knew. Even the things that I thought were foundational about my faith are being torn down and built up correctly. The hard part is that the tearing down comes fast, and the building up is slow.

And all of this construction is exhausting. But so good. It is like that feeling when you have been working hard at something all day and finally you step back and realize what you have built.

So I keep searching for stones with which to build my foundation. Some are cracked, some don't fit with what is already there, and some just simply aren't biblical. But when I find one of those stones that fits perfectly, oh man!! I cannot describe to you the joy that fills my heart.

Right now I am looking for a culture stone. It is so easy for me to remove myself from my culture, but is that the best thing? What if I stare at culture head on and confront it? Wouldn't that be better? But what if I start conforming to the culture? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have stayed away from it all together? I am throwing away some of these old stones, but some of these new ones aren't right.

I know that the culture stone that I am looking for is grace-colored, but I don't know much more than that. I know that in order for me to find the right stone, I am probably going to have to try out some stones that might not fit correctly. And that is where grace comes in. As long as I remember that I am searching for that stone because it is going to build my foundation and don't get distracted by the stone itself, God will allow me to try out a wrong stone. And that is okay (hard and humbling, but okay). But as I am measuring up the stones to my building plan (Scripture), I will be able to discern what stone God wants me to build with.

But grace goes further. Yah, I can look and look and build and build, but really, it is God who is doing the building. He is the one who is placing those stones along my path in his right timing. He is the Architect. I am just a construction worker.... but what an honor it is.

I am not a hippie.

My family thinks that I am a hippie. I kinda used to want to be one. But I'm over it. However, I think that they had a few things right.

Meditation, Community, Dreads (ok, maybe not dreads), Living Simply, and the list could go on...

But man, think about living simply. I usually think of it as an abstract theory of consuming cheaper things than the average american (shopping at thrift stores, riding a bike rather than driving, etc.). I add in there something about recycling and turning off the water while I brush my teeth, and voila! Green=simple, right?

Wrong.

While there is some merit to living a "green" lifestyle, that is not at all what i am talking about. I am talking about quieting the noise in our lives. I am going to start gradually but very intentionally reducing the noise levels in my life. Facebook was the first to go. Now I am thinking food and coffee. Then maybe clothes, music, and who knows what else that will lead to.

Now, I am not going to go around as a hungry nudist, I just want to try to get rid of all the extras.

Here's the thing. I was just talking with a good friend, and she was telling me that she and her husband are going to start trying to live on just the necessities. They are purposefully going to swing too far to the simplicity side. Once they realize what things are essential and what are extra, they can slowly add back in those things that are pretty much necessary.

I think that this is a great idea! Not only will it make life easier and the "extras" more enjoyable when they come around, but I think that it will make it easier to hear the voice of God. Like, I always say that I want to hear the voice of God, but am I even listening? Not with the radio in my ears and the facebook world on my mind.

I think that this is going to be a slow process, but I think that it will be so good!

(Disclaimer; I am not condemning all americans or people who have facebook. I am just saying that for me right now, this is the best thing.)

outings and innings