It Blows My Mind.

When I think about the things that happened this weekend, those are the only words that come to me.

I blows my mind that a small thought I had during a Life of Christ lecture last semester turned into a theme. That theme turned into an outline that I woke up and wrote down at 3 AM some time about 3 months ago. That outline turned into three 30 minute talks to 101 students. And somehow in that crazy mish-mash of events, God can use a little girl with a high-pitched voice and a lisp to speak life and truth into people she's never met-- and some people she's known for a long time.

This weekend was probably the coolest thing I've ever gotten to do. Mostly because I know that I didn't really do anything. But I get to get up in front of a room full of people and celebrate how wonderful my Savior is. Furthermore, I get to ask them to join me.

God is moving in a powerful way in a small community in Blue Springs. And that is crazy good.

Many thanks to the wonderful people who have supported me throughout this process. There were so many adults encouraging me both along the way and throughout the weekend. Watching you guys love on kids was one of the sweetest things to me. Your love means so much more to my life than I think words could express.


There are a few things that have especially touched my heart. Several students came and thanked me for speaking to them. One told me I was his hero. I can't believe God lets me do His work this way. One parent told me it was important for her that her kids heard good teaching and that's why she was glad I was there... do you guys just enjoy watching me cry??

Gah. I am so tired. And I am so amazed that God is so good and He chooses to use a fool like me to bring little pieces of His kingdom to this earth.

Now to Him who is able to do abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever, amen!

Much love.
-Vern.

#SB2010!

Oh twitter. You have rocked my world.

Things I have done over spring break:
-Shutter Island (excellent.)
-Alice in Wonderland-- the 3D Imax experience, no less. (Even more excellent.)
-Family birthday celebration
-Pedicure
-Doctor
-Dentist
-Youtube
-Sporcle
-Quiet times for retreat. Special thanks to Adam and Scott for their help (the Risinger kind, not the Sterling kind, for those of you keeping score at home).

Things I have not done over spring break:
-any form of school work.
... this is going to be a problem. I didn't even move my homework out of the trunk of my car until today. Tomorrow is going to be a day of productivity-- or I'm going to fail a couple of tests next week. I guess we'll just see what the cards hold.


And since we are listing I will give you a brief summary of some things I learned about marriage and family.
-Some causes of poverty are systemic.
-I still don't know what to do about that.
-Divorce does not necessarily ruin kids.
-Legalizing gay marriage is really probably going to happen... and it's because of changes that heterosexuals made to marriage.
-Liberals and conservatives both tend to fail at life (and policy writing).


-- maybe instead of crusading for marriage and berating people for divorce, the church should teach people how to love better and have better relationships overall. After all, if people have learned how to be happily married then they probably won't have much reason to get divorced. eh? Also, people who are happily married tend to be better parents. And, even if happily married isn't an option anymore-- we can still teach people to be better parents and co-parents.


Love.
-V

... but that's how God made things.

Every time I learn something, I realize that I have so much more to learn.

Today is the first day of my OSLEP class on Marriage and Family. For those of you unfamiliar with the system, I'll give you the basic rundown. OSLEP is a seminar program where you do an intensive study with a scholar. Basically, I read a bunch of stuff and did some pre-seminar writing assignments, and now I'm here hashing it out with all the other people who read it and one of the people who wrote it. Good stuff.

It is interesting to be in a secular learning environment for the first time in 2 and a half years. It's surprisingly refreshing. It's almost as if the pressure is off because you don't have to have God on your side when you're done figuring things out. Not that I'm separating my faith and learning, but I think I want to really see what the research says before I make my judgments about what God says.

But this is what I've really been thinking. There is so much to learn about marriage and so many assumptions that we make. Really, even the nuclear family is a social construction and so are gender roles within society and even dating practices. So I've just been thinking about the proliferation of Christian dating books. It seems to me that anyone who wants to can be an expert on Christian dating. And the threat with that is that when someone decides to be an expert on Christian anything the result is not, "Here's my conclusion," it's "Here's what God says." And people have a history of doing stupid, unfounded things in the name of God.

So maybe, Christians, before we decide to claim an expertise based on special revelation that God has given us, we should really look into all of the facets of the issue. Because you might just decide that marriage as an institution is not something you want to claim inherently belongs to the church. And you might decide that things we believe boys and girls should do and roles they should follow may not be as "innate" as we thought they were. And once we have actually educated ourselves, maybe then we will have something worthwhile to say.

Oh college, liberating my mind.

We'll see what I decide at the end of the week. I'll let you know. :)

Love.
-Vern

I would do anything for love...

But I won't do that.

Do you remember that song? It's funny,of course Meatloaf meant it as a joke, but perhaps he was on to something. Do we all have a "that?" Something my mother has always said that there were only two things my father could ever do to make her leave: hit her or cheat on her... and if he did she was taking the kids. But we all sort of laugh when she says this because of course those are two things my dad is definitely not ever planning on doing. But maybe my mom is simply communicating something we all hold on to secretly in the depths of our hearts-- limits.

So last week I found myself at my limit saying to God, "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that." For me, at least, this was an expression of hurt which had turned to bitterness and expressed itself in selfishness. And though I had the opportunity to see God in my pain, I knew that I thought what He was bound to ask me to do was something I had absolutely no intention of doing. "That, God? Are you sure THAT is what you want?" So I stuck my fist in the air and paid a fine to get on the next boat going anywhere but Ninevah thinking, "I'd rather run from you than do that."

That's how I ended up in the belly of the whale.

And only from there, when I saw that I was going to be stuck in the dark, gasping for breath, and turning more and more disgusting as time went on, only there did I call out to God. Then I repented and said, "You're right. And the vow which I have made, I will fulfill." And once again I found that His grace is sufficient for me and He is still the fountainhead of life.

What a fool I have been! Though I can't help but wonder if this life is nothing more than a continual conquering of "that"s until there is truly nothing we wouldn't do for love-- being obedient, even to death on a cross. Because in my stubbornness I have been confronted by the one who has loved me so perfectly and so completely that he has yet to find the thing He wouldn't do for love.

My God, my God, why hast Thou accepted me? Truly to you, I owe everything.


Needless to say, it has been a refreshing weekend here on dry land, getting ready for a trip of obedience.

-Vern.

Time Crunch.

I have had so many good, life-giving conversations in the past week. But I have not done enough homework.

This is a problem.

Stupid school. I love you but I wish I had 3 day weekends and an endless supply of caffeine.

You know what is so funny?

Reading things I wrote from about 7th-10th grade. Why? Because I was sooooo adolescent.

Oh awkward years, is there anything you didn't ruin?

:) I really recommend it. Also, I hope that you and your lame ex-boyfriend also had xangas so you can see all of the awesomeness you wrote on it.

I love growing up.

Some days are harder than others.

But it would be nice to have less of those days.