Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Minnesota Playdowns
Good Morning from Playdowns!
This weekend I'm in Minnesota watching Alex's team playoff for a chance to represent MN at the Junior Curling National Championship. She had her first game last night, which they won, and has another game tonight at 7. I'll try to keep updating so you can follow, but updates will also be here
In other news, mom and I wanted to go to church this morning, so we did some research last night and found a church in the area we thought looked solid, got up early this morning and set out for the 9AM service. We get to the parking lot of this big church and there are like 5 other cars in the lot, bad sign we're thinking what could this possibly be like if only 5 people show up for service? Turns out, the early service was cancelled becuase of the holidays, so now were off to attempt the 10:30 service :)
Check back tonight for results on Al's late game!
This weekend I'm in Minnesota watching Alex's team playoff for a chance to represent MN at the Junior Curling National Championship. She had her first game last night, which they won, and has another game tonight at 7. I'll try to keep updating so you can follow, but updates will also be here
In other news, mom and I wanted to go to church this morning, so we did some research last night and found a church in the area we thought looked solid, got up early this morning and set out for the 9AM service. We get to the parking lot of this big church and there are like 5 other cars in the lot, bad sign we're thinking what could this possibly be like if only 5 people show up for service? Turns out, the early service was cancelled becuase of the holidays, so now were off to attempt the 10:30 service :)
Check back tonight for results on Al's late game!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Exam Week.....
With the arrival of exam week, I have banned myself from blogging so that I don't give myself an excuse to not study, but it's late and my brain is pretty much fried and I decided I'm allowed to write something short, just a little update.
I've been involved with a student org called Engineers Without Borders since spring semester of my freshmen year. EWB is an organization that brings engineering professionals and students together to offer free engineering services to underprivileged communities worldwide. At the UW we have teams working in El Salvador, Rwanda, Kenya, Haiti, and the US. I have mostly been involved with the Haiti team, but because of curling and rowing and summer stuff I have only done design work with the team, I've never gotten to be on the travel team, but Monday night I finally got official travel dates for our Engineers Without Borders winter trip which I will be able to go on this year!!!
Our team is leaving from Madison on January 6th, flying through Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and then will drive to Bayonnais, the community which we work with. While we're there we will do a lot of surveying and other assessment work for a pipe bridge to be built over a river during the spring break trip. We have a lot of the bridge designed already, but need a little more information before we will be ready to implement the project. We will also be working with the people of the community and even running a health info session with some of our members who speak the language and giving out some basics like soap, tooth brushes and toothpaste. Then we'll return to Madison January 14th, just in time to chill a little before classes start the 19th.
I'm so excited to finally get to travel and thought I'd share that with you all :)
I've been involved with a student org called Engineers Without Borders since spring semester of my freshmen year. EWB is an organization that brings engineering professionals and students together to offer free engineering services to underprivileged communities worldwide. At the UW we have teams working in El Salvador, Rwanda, Kenya, Haiti, and the US. I have mostly been involved with the Haiti team, but because of curling and rowing and summer stuff I have only done design work with the team, I've never gotten to be on the travel team, but Monday night I finally got official travel dates for our Engineers Without Borders winter trip which I will be able to go on this year!!!
Our team is leaving from Madison on January 6th, flying through Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and then will drive to Bayonnais, the community which we work with. While we're there we will do a lot of surveying and other assessment work for a pipe bridge to be built over a river during the spring break trip. We have a lot of the bridge designed already, but need a little more information before we will be ready to implement the project. We will also be working with the people of the community and even running a health info session with some of our members who speak the language and giving out some basics like soap, tooth brushes and toothpaste. Then we'll return to Madison January 14th, just in time to chill a little before classes start the 19th.
I'm so excited to finally get to travel and thought I'd share that with you all :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Breaking the Silence
As most of you have probably noticed, I have been a complete blogging failure for the last three weeks. School has been crazy insane, but it's finally starting to slow down a little so I've decided I'm gonna take some time to write tonight. Over the last few weeks, I have had a bunch of things I've thought about blogging, but no time to post, so now as I sit down to break the silence, I'm not entirely sure what to say. So here goes...
One thing that I hope will never fail to amaze me is Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Especially since this summer, every time I think of this amazing, beautiful, radical gift, I'm overwhelmed. Over the course of the last couple weeks, I have really been pondering what it looks like to respond to this sacrifice of love. Last week I started reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In this book, Chan dives into what it looks like to respond to God's call for a "passionate love relationship" versus sticking with the status quo. I've really enjoyed this book so far and love where Chan is going, but have been challenged to look at my own life as well.
Last week I also was reading through the end of the Gospel of Mark. Every time I read through the end of a Gospel, and likewise through the crucifixion, my heart wants to explode in my chest, it's so overwhelming to think about the terrible pain He went through, it's so unimaginable to comprehend His separation from the Father and leaving the people on earth He loved the most, and it's so exciting to know He did that for me!!!! It's crazy! Reading through chapter 15, something new stuck out to me.
Then, my thoughts slowly drifted to my own life, how often do I do the same thing? I even have the entire Bible laying out everything for me, and there are times I still choose to ignore His sacrifice for me. Chan says:
Those are the things people don't really want to ponder, you know? Things, honestly, I feel like I would be okay not thinking about, ever.
But as I forced myself to stay in this uncomfortable place, I began to be convicted by grudges I continue to hold in relationships. People who I refuse to show the love of Christ to because I have not seen the love of Christ from them. This is something I really struggle with. I told a friend once that one of the hardest things for me to do is give grace to people who I think don't deserve it. She was quick to point out that that mindset basically defeated the entire concept of grace, withholding an undeserved gift from someone who doesn't deserve it.....I still do it though.
I know what God desires my life to look like, how He wants me to love my neighbor as myself and pray for my enemies and be a picture of Christ to this world, but sometimes it's so easy to ask, why? Why live like that, why is it worth going out of my way to get stepped on or put my neck out, or even my heart, for people who don't care? I want to, I want to be that girl known for her love, sometimes it's so hard though, and more than that sometimes it's so scary. You know?
One thing that I hope will never fail to amaze me is Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Especially since this summer, every time I think of this amazing, beautiful, radical gift, I'm overwhelmed. Over the course of the last couple weeks, I have really been pondering what it looks like to respond to this sacrifice of love. Last week I started reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In this book, Chan dives into what it looks like to respond to God's call for a "passionate love relationship" versus sticking with the status quo. I've really enjoyed this book so far and love where Chan is going, but have been challenged to look at my own life as well.
Last week I also was reading through the end of the Gospel of Mark. Every time I read through the end of a Gospel, and likewise through the crucifixion, my heart wants to explode in my chest, it's so overwhelming to think about the terrible pain He went through, it's so unimaginable to comprehend His separation from the Father and leaving the people on earth He loved the most, and it's so exciting to know He did that for me!!!! It's crazy! Reading through chapter 15, something new stuck out to me.
Mark 15:16-20--The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Mark 15:31-32--In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.As I read these verses, I kept thinking--Do you think there was a moment while Jesus was on the cross that He wanted to let these people have it? Like just a second when He wanted look them in the eyes and cry out to them, "Don't you get it, I'm doing this for you?!" What would He have given for these people to know Him, could He have given more? He gave them everything, and it still wasn't enough. They still chose to ignore Him, no worse than that, they chose to hate Him while He demonstrated the greatest love of all time.
Then, my thoughts slowly drifted to my own life, how often do I do the same thing? I even have the entire Bible laying out everything for me, and there are times I still choose to ignore His sacrifice for me. Chan says:
We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He's great and deserves to be the center of our lives. Jesus came humbly as a servant but never begs us to give Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers.Am I giving Him everything? Are there parts of my life that have Christ crying out to me, "Don't you get it, I did that for you so you could know Me, so you could know love..." Are there things blinding me from knowing His love or are there areas in my life where I am just completely ignoring Him?
Those are the things people don't really want to ponder, you know? Things, honestly, I feel like I would be okay not thinking about, ever.
But as I forced myself to stay in this uncomfortable place, I began to be convicted by grudges I continue to hold in relationships. People who I refuse to show the love of Christ to because I have not seen the love of Christ from them. This is something I really struggle with. I told a friend once that one of the hardest things for me to do is give grace to people who I think don't deserve it. She was quick to point out that that mindset basically defeated the entire concept of grace, withholding an undeserved gift from someone who doesn't deserve it.....I still do it though.
I know what God desires my life to look like, how He wants me to love my neighbor as myself and pray for my enemies and be a picture of Christ to this world, but sometimes it's so easy to ask, why? Why live like that, why is it worth going out of my way to get stepped on or put my neck out, or even my heart, for people who don't care? I want to, I want to be that girl known for her love, sometimes it's so hard though, and more than that sometimes it's so scary. You know?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Summer Already?
October 31st-What did I do today you ask?
Well, I'm glad you asked because I spent most of my day working on an application for a summer internship. Where you ask, well I'll make you guess, here's a few hints:
-The first question on the application is-How did you come to know Jesus Christ and how to you live that out today?
-The application requires a reference from a spiritual mentor/pastor.
-If accepted, I will spend my summer in Colorado.
Think you have it figured? What if I said that this internship will be a direct application of my engineering degree? Yep that's right! I am applying for a summer internship with an organization called Engineering Ministries International, a firm of professional engineers, full time missionary engineers, devoted to using their skills and gifts to serve the poorest of the poor throughout the world.
This is an organization I have fallen in love with the past couple years and I am so excited to finally qualify to apply for one of their internships. The applications aren't even due until January, so I probably won't hear back about it anytime soon, but I thought I would let you all know, because I am really excited about it and I would love for you to uphold me and this opportunity up in prayer.
Please pray that God would reveal to me how He wants me to spend my summer. I really feel like this is it, but if it's not, I will need God to make that insanely apparent. Also, this opportunity will mean another summer of support raising, please pray that God would already begin to soften and prepare hearts of future supporters. Finally, prayers for patience would also be much appreciated. In case you don't know me, I love having a plan. Even though summer basically half a year away, if I could have it entirely figured out right now, I would, so waiting for a response and revelation of God's plan will be a struggle for me.
Thanks!
Well, I'm glad you asked because I spent most of my day working on an application for a summer internship. Where you ask, well I'll make you guess, here's a few hints:
-The first question on the application is-How did you come to know Jesus Christ and how to you live that out today?
-The application requires a reference from a spiritual mentor/pastor.
-If accepted, I will spend my summer in Colorado.
Think you have it figured? What if I said that this internship will be a direct application of my engineering degree? Yep that's right! I am applying for a summer internship with an organization called Engineering Ministries International, a firm of professional engineers, full time missionary engineers, devoted to using their skills and gifts to serve the poorest of the poor throughout the world.
This is an organization I have fallen in love with the past couple years and I am so excited to finally qualify to apply for one of their internships. The applications aren't even due until January, so I probably won't hear back about it anytime soon, but I thought I would let you all know, because I am really excited about it and I would love for you to uphold me and this opportunity up in prayer.
Please pray that God would reveal to me how He wants me to spend my summer. I really feel like this is it, but if it's not, I will need God to make that insanely apparent. Also, this opportunity will mean another summer of support raising, please pray that God would already begin to soften and prepare hearts of future supporters. Finally, prayers for patience would also be much appreciated. In case you don't know me, I love having a plan. Even though summer basically half a year away, if I could have it entirely figured out right now, I would, so waiting for a response and revelation of God's plan will be a struggle for me.
Thanks!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Life on University
So today as I was walking on campus and I realized how many people I see each day. Seriously walking from class to class I see hundreds of people, but do I really see them? Normally I am so busy as I walk down the streets, my mind is bouncing between classes, homework, plans for AIA or the weekend, figuring out when I'm going to get a nap in you know, important stuff ;) that I just pay no attention to anyone whizzing past me on the street.
Today though I looked around for a moment and saw a girl who was walking down the street and she just looked so sad. I couldn't help but think, what's her story? Did she just bomb a test, get bad news, break up with a boyfriend, does she know Jesus loves her, does she know I really just want to give her a hug right now? In the few seconds it took for her to pass, questions bombarded me, I wanted to know this girl's story, and then she was gone, we passed each other and I probably couldn't even pick her out of a crowd again.
I took the rest of my walk from Bascom to Engineering Hall to just watch people passing by. So many people, so many stories, so many questions flying through my mind. What's playing on his Ipod, who's she talking to on the phone, are they dating, why won't she look me in the eyes; with every person I passed I felt like I wanted to know more.
Then, I began to wonder-What do you think it was like for Jesus to walk down the road, did He experience something similar? Did He tap into His omniscience every time He saw someone new? He did every really see someone new or did He already know the story of everyone He met? Was He always on compassion overload, did He every have to turn that off?
What did it look like for Jesus to love His neighbors daily? I know the Bible records the great stories of miracles that defined His ministry, but everyday, walking down the road between miracles, what did loving His neighbors mean? So flip side, what does loving these people in my life for seconds each day look like?
Obviously I can't stop every person I see on the street and dig into their story, I would never get to class. I can't just go around hugging everyone who looks like they've had a bad day and then keep going on with my day. So what can I do?
Today though I looked around for a moment and saw a girl who was walking down the street and she just looked so sad. I couldn't help but think, what's her story? Did she just bomb a test, get bad news, break up with a boyfriend, does she know Jesus loves her, does she know I really just want to give her a hug right now? In the few seconds it took for her to pass, questions bombarded me, I wanted to know this girl's story, and then she was gone, we passed each other and I probably couldn't even pick her out of a crowd again.
I took the rest of my walk from Bascom to Engineering Hall to just watch people passing by. So many people, so many stories, so many questions flying through my mind. What's playing on his Ipod, who's she talking to on the phone, are they dating, why won't she look me in the eyes; with every person I passed I felt like I wanted to know more.
Then, I began to wonder-What do you think it was like for Jesus to walk down the road, did He experience something similar? Did He tap into His omniscience every time He saw someone new? He did every really see someone new or did He already know the story of everyone He met? Was He always on compassion overload, did He every have to turn that off?
What did it look like for Jesus to love His neighbors daily? I know the Bible records the great stories of miracles that defined His ministry, but everyday, walking down the road between miracles, what did loving His neighbors mean? So flip side, what does loving these people in my life for seconds each day look like?
Obviously I can't stop every person I see on the street and dig into their story, I would never get to class. I can't just go around hugging everyone who looks like they've had a bad day and then keep going on with my day. So what can I do?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It's been a while
Wow I can't believe it's been 10 days since I blogged last!! Life as been sooo crazy lately, it honestly feels like I get down with one thing and then there are 10 more things to do. On top of struggling to simply balance life, last week I got midterm exam scores back. I felt so prepared for all of them, but only got mediocre grades back. That's such a discouragement for me. I'm really putting so much into my studies, I know this is where God has me right now so I want to give Him my best, but feeling like my best isn't good enough, I just hate that! Then I run into the question of what's the motivation driving my want for good grades, whether I want to glorify myself or Him with A's. If I'm trying as hard as I can and know that I'm giving Him everything should I be satisfied with these grades even though they leave me with a feeling of inadequacy? Something to ponder I guess.
Anyway. last week at Blackhawk the Sunday school lesson we were teaching the kids was "Wisdom means choosing wise friends." This "bottom line" was illustrated with the story of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12, a classic I know ;) No for those of you who have no idea what that story is, The people came to Rehoboam (Solomon's son) as he was taking the throne and told him that his father's yoke on the people was too heavy and said that if he would lighten the yoke that they would serve him. The people gave Rehoboam 3 days to make a decision. In that time, Rehoboam asked some elders and some friends for advice. The elders told Rehoboam to lighten the load and gain the people's favor, while his friends told him to show the people who's boss and make their yolk heavier. Rehoboam chose to listen to his friends and consequentially the people rebelled.
So to teach the kids this story, the woman in charge of large group this week, Shannon, had the kids act it out. She picked one of the boys, Dylan, to be King Rehoboam. She set up the story, then she picked a girl to represent the people. She told the kids that one of the ways the people were under a heavy burden was that they were being taxed heavily. She took out some plastic coins and gave four to the girl and as taxes Dylan took three of those coins. Now Shannon began to explain the advice that Rehoboam got from both sets of people. Immediately, Dylan said he thought he should be nice to the people. It seems like common sense right? Then Shannon explained that if he picked to make life easier on the people that would mean less money for him, she took 2 of the coins in his hand and gave them back to the people. Suddenly, Dylan was torn. The decision that was a piece of cake seconds ago now left uncertainty written all over his face! I thought that was so interesting!
I don't know, it was just so apparent. Dylan, along with most of the kids in the room, knew when they saw the advice Rehoboam got, that if he would work with the people and lighten their load, that they would love him and serve him. But then you introduce this idea that making the right decision might mean sacrificing something yourself, and o man, that decision gets hard really fast!
I know being born with a sinful nature, into a sinful world, means that people are innately selfish. I'm selfish. Rehoboam was selfish. Dylan is 8, he's selfish. How do we reverse that? Can we? Even when we walk in the Spirit, are our motives ever 100% selfless? Dylan was acting out a story, he was making decisions over fake money and he still couldn't resist the temptation to want more! I mean it's funny but at the same time it's so not at all funny. I have no amazing revelations tonight, just observations I guess.
Anyway. last week at Blackhawk the Sunday school lesson we were teaching the kids was "Wisdom means choosing wise friends." This "bottom line" was illustrated with the story of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12, a classic I know ;) No for those of you who have no idea what that story is, The people came to Rehoboam (Solomon's son) as he was taking the throne and told him that his father's yoke on the people was too heavy and said that if he would lighten the yoke that they would serve him. The people gave Rehoboam 3 days to make a decision. In that time, Rehoboam asked some elders and some friends for advice. The elders told Rehoboam to lighten the load and gain the people's favor, while his friends told him to show the people who's boss and make their yolk heavier. Rehoboam chose to listen to his friends and consequentially the people rebelled.
So to teach the kids this story, the woman in charge of large group this week, Shannon, had the kids act it out. She picked one of the boys, Dylan, to be King Rehoboam. She set up the story, then she picked a girl to represent the people. She told the kids that one of the ways the people were under a heavy burden was that they were being taxed heavily. She took out some plastic coins and gave four to the girl and as taxes Dylan took three of those coins. Now Shannon began to explain the advice that Rehoboam got from both sets of people. Immediately, Dylan said he thought he should be nice to the people. It seems like common sense right? Then Shannon explained that if he picked to make life easier on the people that would mean less money for him, she took 2 of the coins in his hand and gave them back to the people. Suddenly, Dylan was torn. The decision that was a piece of cake seconds ago now left uncertainty written all over his face! I thought that was so interesting!
I don't know, it was just so apparent. Dylan, along with most of the kids in the room, knew when they saw the advice Rehoboam got, that if he would work with the people and lighten their load, that they would love him and serve him. But then you introduce this idea that making the right decision might mean sacrificing something yourself, and o man, that decision gets hard really fast!
I know being born with a sinful nature, into a sinful world, means that people are innately selfish. I'm selfish. Rehoboam was selfish. Dylan is 8, he's selfish. How do we reverse that? Can we? Even when we walk in the Spirit, are our motives ever 100% selfless? Dylan was acting out a story, he was making decisions over fake money and he still couldn't resist the temptation to want more! I mean it's funny but at the same time it's so not at all funny. I have no amazing revelations tonight, just observations I guess.
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