[1st summer post: living life!]

"Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." [John 10: 7-10]

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Live life to the fullest"? Or what about the quote, "Our days are like identical suitcases - all the same size, some people pack more in them than others"? For some reason, the first phrase has ran through my head more than once recently. And I find it funny because I try not to be concerned with paying attention to what cliches mean or emphasize. So, why's the phrase hit me recently? Maybe it's the stage of life I'm in, who knows... As for the second quote (above), there's a lot of truth in understanding the stewardship of how a person spends his or her day. We are all aging. No one can run from the process of life's varying stages. Some days, we get more done than others. And other days, we don't. It's all okay in the end though. Really, it is. Some days, the reminder of the aches and pains our failing bodies have are more apparent than ever before. Other days, we feel fit as a fiddle - just like "back in the day." Where does the time go? Recently, I asked a wiser, older friend of mine (yes, she's in the LWML) about life and if it ever slows down. She smiled and laughed, summing up that life presents a new kind of busy in each season you experience and endure.

Let me tell you, I'm absolutely thrilled for the current experiences (and what is to come) that God continues to reveal in my life.

I don't mean to disappoint but I am not going to begin to write up a list to tell you how to "Live life to the fullest." If you really care to, I'm sure you could do a Google search and find a list for yourself. But in the end I don't think one list you find on the internet will truly guide you on how to fully live out your life. Your life is yours. It is a gift from God! Thanks be to God for this! Your life looks different than your neighbor's. And praise the Lord for that! Continue pressing on in the race of life. Invest time in what you are passionate about and the current vocations God has blessed you to have. And in everything you do, pray and seek to share the love of Christ in all you do!

Just a few things (but for sure not an exhaustive list, nor in any particular order) about life that I pray God will continue to bless me with the rest of my life...
   
     -Interacting with God's people - yes, I'm talking about being with the youngest of young & the oldest of old. Cherish the moments God gives you when you spend time with the people He puts in your life. You may learn something you didn't anticipate learning from the unexpected teacher of a 6 year old!

     -Recognizing ministry moments - Ministry is such a beautiful thing. I pray that God doesn't ever allow me to see ministry as a boring experience in my life. He is at work in all moments of ministry! And I am along for the ride! It is in exciting ministry moments I always hear my good friend from Seward exclaim, "Heck yes, I'm church work!" :)

     -Living out the beauty of forgiveness - No one is perfect and forgiveness is one gift of God's we are able to use to help us in moments where we wrong others we care about in our lives. In my opinion there's no way to survive life without utilizing this beautiful gift of God's!

     -Sharing the Gospel - And this occurs in so many ways! Whether you are doing family devotions at home, teaching Sunday School at church, praying for missionaries, collecting mites for mission projects, or hopping a pond for an overseas mission trip - God enables all people of all ages to share about the work of Jesus! Praise the Lord for giving us the Holy Spirit who works faith in our hearts and gives us the ability to trust in Him!

     -Living life one day at a time - Life seems to be less stressful this way, and frankly, I'm all for decreasing the amount of stress in my life. This does not mean though, that I'd recommend not planning ahead for things you're responsible for. Planning ahead is super wise and makes the event/ responsibility that much more enjoyable when the time comes to implement something!

     -Realizing that learning doesn't stop - AND It never has to stop! I don't know about you but I thoroughly enjoy learning from others. Trust me, it makes life more interesting.

That's all, folks!

(...for now.)

long lost blogger... & another 10 things!

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." [1 John 4:7]

So if there is any chance you may be concerned about if I am ever going to return to blog land or not the answer is: I am going to try! You may be thinking... well, that girl hasn't blogged since October of last year. Fat chance she'll keep it up. While it's true that most likely I will fail, as I do with many other things I desire to get done, I'm going to give it a go again. Can I just use the "I'm in grad school" card? I feel this is an okay time to play that card. Seems there's always something more I should be doing. (Or is that just the story of life?) I'm never reading enough of what I am supposed to read for class. I find myself digger deeper into resources related to things that interest me about ministry related topics but rarely do they line up with what is required in the current course I am taking. Oh well! Learning is learning and benefits me in some way whether it is in or out of the classroom. Just as long as I read the stuff that's required in due (and on) time!

That being said... I'll do a quick run down of the top 10 things that I can think of off the top of my head currently about being back in Fort Wayne for my first Spring quarter at the seminary:

[10] Winter quarter ended and I was blessed to be part of a short term 2 week mission/study abroad trip to Nagercoil, India with a group of students and faculty from Concordia Theological Seminary. WOW! I did not at all anticipate God bringing me to Indiana this year and leading me with an opportunity to go to India. (Pretty sure my parents didn't either!) What joy it was to meet students of the seminary of the India Evangelical Lutheran church (IELC)! It was also really neat to visit multiple sites that the IELC supports and runs. Homes/ schools for children who are blind, deaf, dealing with polio, a high school, place for mentally disabled, etc. We toured a hospital that received support through LWML mites in 1955. I was shocked! It was so neat to have God show me half way around the world how the LWML had benefited his people! I especially enjoyed being able to attend worship services and recognized hymn tunes of the hymns the people sang in the Tamil language. I'd recognize a tune and be able to find the hymn number in the LSB and then the team was able to sing along in English. Well, these are biggest highlights I can think of for now. That and our tour guide, Ravi, was an amazing blessing for our group! The final thing is Chicken 65 was the best dish I enjoyed to eat along with naan bread!

[9] My classes this Spring quarter are absolutely awesome. I am taking: Psalms (Hello, hymnbook of the Bible...anything having to do with hymns and I am there!), Theologia I: Baptism, Field Education, Lutheran Confessions II (Love me some Book of Concord!), Theology of Diakonal Care, and Organ lessons (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). While I have enjoyed my entire first year of graduate studies so far, I am pretty sure this will be my most favorite quarter. Maybe it has to do with it being Spring. The sun's bound to shine a lot more than it did during the dreary months of winter. But who knows...it could be I am understanding and realizing "formation" process unfold in my studies and time here at the seminary.  I don't know for sure yet, but I do know that God does know and will show me reasons why in his timing.

[8] Visiting others. It just doesn't get old. And I pray it never does. The Lord grants me so much joy in visiting the old and the youngest of young I know in this area I find myself living in. It was wonderful to come back from India and stop by the senior center nearby to show my residents I was safely back in the states. I rode my bike there, so I didn't stay long because I didn't smell the best :) And what joy to learn from an aunt of a seminarian's kids that a 3 year was ecstatic I was coming over to play for a bit! Little kids bring me so much joy and help me remember to worry less and play more. It was wonderful to see a little of Cinderella a few weeks ago and even more precious to do devotions with a 3 year old. I don't think I've ever been asked so many "what else happened?" questions in regards to explaining Easter to a youngster. Kids are smart. They can challenge you in more ways than one. And for that, I am so thankful!

[7] Studying theology. I'm am incredibly grateful and blessed that God led me to find about the deaconess program through people he placed in my life and at just the right time. I'm glad he had me at Concordia University Seward, NE right when the pre-deaconess program began and he nudged me on my own accord to begin taking theology classes before it was even required for a program. I will forever remember the deep love of theology that began at Seward and continues to grow and strengthen its roots here in my studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN.

[6] Liturgical posture...before I became a student at the seminary I really hadn't thought much about these two words. But as I am nearing the end of my first year as a deaconess student, so it's time for me to reflect on these words and confess - yes, it's hard for me to stand during the Prayers of the Church portion of a church service these days. It may seem weird to you - especially if your church doesn't have kneelers - but when you spend 3/4 of the year at seminary kneeling during prayers there's something about changing your posture that can help a person be more focused in praying together as a community. We no longer kneel as we are in the Easter season of the church year and for this I'm ever so thankful to rejoice in the resurrection of the Lord - even if it means standing during prayers again!

[5] During Lent we chanted the Litany found in the Lutheran Service Book. It's probably the first time I've ever sung it and it is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. I still remember the joy that filled my soul in partaking of this sung prayer for the first time at chapel. What peace and comfort it brings to a person!!!

[4] Surprises!!!! I have been blessed to share in many surprises this year. And for all of that, I am forever grateful that God blessed me with completing successful surprises!

[3] Receiving wonderful news...from friends all over the USA. I rejoice in getting to share in others' joy and I pray God continues to teach me how to mourn with others in their sorrows. It seems easy to share with others when all life hands you is good news after good news. I continue to ask the Lord to give me strength and his words to share in the proper time when others have bad news come their way.

[2] Springtime...is just a wonderful season of the year. What with nature coming to life again, trees budding, flowers perking up, birds chirping, milder temperatures, etc - why wouldn't a person love Spring? Good news has come my way this spring from friends from all over, friends receiving their first calls, friends about to complete their first year serving as teachers, Directors of Music, etc. Graduations are upon us all over the country, Confirmations are coming up, recent engagements, with witnessing celebrations of weddings, etc - just more events to take part in and celebrate and rejoice with others! 

[1] And my number one thing about this Spring quarter...is that the love of Christ continues to abound in my life in many ways. Whether in reading his Word during devotions, hearing it spoken in daily chapel services or receiving the preaching through the pastor's lips into my ears, the love of Christ is continually poured into my life. Not to forget the many people God places in my life and shares his love with me in so many ways. I am forever grateful for this. It is so comforting to know in an ever-changing world, Jesus Christ remains constant and is always there. He never changes, never will, and his love for me, for you, is always present in our lives! Thanks be to God!