Hello to every one. This week is crazy busy with Symposium going on here at campus. The theme this year is "The Art of Preaching." As Dr. Gibbs said, it sort of pertains to our future careers, just a little though. I also want to quick catch up from the past few days as I have been too busy or just to tired to write. I know I am following out of my daily habit, but I will try to keep up with it. Sunday I read for the Old Testament and Epistle lessons for my field work church for the first time. I will now continue to read the lessons every communion Sunday. I got several compliments on being loud enough and clear enough to hear well, so I hope to continue to do well with those. Then we went out to lunch with Pastor again. It is a great lunch plus the conversations almost always have to do with what is going on with the church that week, so it is a great way for Pastor to mentor us and just great bonding time. Then I took my usual Sunday afternoon nap, which I have to after the huge meal we eat with Pastor, and then woke up to do homework.
Yesterday, I only had two out of my three classes. Hebrew and Pastoral Ministry. Hebrew I like less and less each class. One, I don't feel like I am learning anything in class, because we do all the translations on our own before class, and then in class just very quickly go over the translations followed by a very, very long, dry, boring history review by Dr. Adams about how or why that text changed over the years. However, it is just one of those classes you have to get through; they can't all be fun. Then Pastoral Ministry we had a guest speaker from Transforming Churches Network. He gave an awesome presentation explaining how they get churches who are only inward focused to see their role as mission servants and turn those churches' focus outward. He had some great ideas with some awesome stories from churches they have already worked with. So it was good to hear there are resources available for churches who struggle with being able to see outside of their own four walls.
Today and tomorrow all classes are cancelled for Symposium. This morning, I worked the registration desk from 7:15 to 11:00. I didn't get to go to chapel or the first few speakers of Symposium, but I am making good money. I work as a bartender this afternoon so I am getting more hours, plus hoping for some good tips. I will go to the one speaker this afternoon, and then have almost all of tomorrow to go to it. Tonight is a group thing I really want to go to as well. Dr. Lewis, a Greek professor loves to use movies as ministry. I think this is awesome cause I love movies and have always wished there was a way to use movies for more Bible Studies and adult classes. He is showing Grand Torino and then going to break it down on how it can be seen as ministry. I have seen the movie, but it is a good one so I will go as soon as I get off work and watch the end of the movie and then I really want to hear his break down on it.
I start my Nursing Home Ministry tomorrow. I am excited for it, but at the same time a little worried. I have no problem talking with senior adults, but some times I can't understand some of them, and I feel bad when I don't get what they are trying to say. Plus I have this feeling that these are all mostly people who have lived in the city most of their lives. At least when I have visited with senior adults in Iowa or Nebraska, I was able to talk with them about growing up on farms. I didn't grow up on a farm, but know enough about what farm life is like that I am still able to communicate efficiently with them. But I am just a little worried about what happens if we run out things to talk about. Also, I want to end with scripture and a prayer if they are ok with it. However, I am not one who is good at knowing which passage to read or just being able to refer to a passage that deals with what were talked about. It is one thing I majorly need to get better at while I am here is to learn exactly where things in the Bible are better. So I will be praying continuously that the Lord blesses me with a positive experience tomorrow, and I trust He will.
I am realizing I really need to carry a note pad with me at all times and write things down. My memory has gotten so bad already, it is not funny. I hear somebody make some unique comment that I think is an awesome way of putting something, and when I get back to my room to write about it, I can't remember what he or she said. Pastor said something Sunday that had me thinking and I even thought, "that is blog worthy!" But after my nap, Sunday night I couldn't remember it or even what it was about for the life of me. The same thing happened with something Dr. Hermann said in class Friday too. My desk and the wall above my desk are posted with post it notes, because I found that is the best way for me to remember everything these days. Some days I look like I have gone insane in my little room with so many post it notes everywhere!
I finished the book Loving the Church You Lead by David Hansen. Great book and even though it is based around being for Pastors, it would be good for anyone who works or serves on any part of the church to read. He breaks "love" into four types and explains how each one must be used. He also gives some warnings for ways a pastor should not love his church. The part I really liked about it was he used real life examples from his own ministry. Now I do not believe he is a Lutheran Pastor, or certainly not a LCMS, if he is, because any time he references to pastor, he uses him or her. However, he has some great examples of each type of love, that show why only that certain type of love could be used, and why love must be present to be successful. So it is another book I would recommend for you to read, and it is a quick 150 page read. His final example is about a little ninety year old lady that belonged to his church but she didn't come because she was blind. So he would make home visits with her. The first time he went there, she was out side chopping wood with an ax. He has a good sense of humor, and how he describes the experience of seeing a blind ninety year old lady chopping wood made me laugh. He talks about how their first visit she wouldn't let him touch her or give her any help. She didn't believe in love because the Bible never uses the word love, it uses the word charity, and she didn't need anyone's charity. She wouldn't let him chop wood for her or anyone else help her. He went on to explain how he would go about every other week and see her and bring communion to her. Finally, when the house started getting messier and messier, and she was getting weaker and more fragile, he was finally able to insist he go chop wood and bring it in the house for her. She grudgingly let him. He said he chopped wood for an hour, let her feel some of the pieces and then went back out to chop again for another forty-five minutes. He filled her porch as full as he could with wood for her. The next time he went he suggested she receive meals on wheels. She exclaimed she wouldn't because that one step away from the "garbage can" (nursing home). She thought families put people in nursing homes so they could forget about them and not have to worry. Her only family was in Canada and she told him she didn't need them anyways. The story goes on for quite a while, but he ends it with how she eventually got meals on wheels, let him come chop wood for her, let some of the church ladies come in and clean for her, and eventually ended up in the nursing home. He ends the story by telling how he had gone to the nursing home to give her communion, and when he left he gave a big hug, and said, "I have a lot of charity for you." She smiled really big and said, "that's good, people need a lot of that." It really got me.
Here is this ninety year old lady who had worked hard all her life, always been independent, taken care of herself. Even with her old age and blindness, she lived by herself, chopped her own wood, and took complete care of herself. She was so against the idea of love or friends she wouldn't even let the pastor touch her on the shoulder when he came to see her. She saw love as charity and pity, and saw family as some one who wants to get rid of you. All it took was one pastor who went regularly to see her, and treat her how she wanted to be treated, slipping in just as much love as she would let him each time. His constant care and little hints of love was finally able to open her up to the point where she could see she needed love. From a touch me not (as my family calls my sister and one brother who are not overly affectionate) to a lady who smiles after a hug and word of love. It is amazing how the Lord uses His servants to affect and touch all His children.
It makes me sad, that she went ninety years missing out on that feeling of being loved. However, it makes me so happy that she finally felt it before it was too late. It reminds us all that we all need love. God put us on this earth as His children that He loves. Not only does He love us, but He wants us to love Him AND to love each other. He put a desire for love in our hearts. Why do you think there are thousands of movies based on the idea of people falling in love? Why do we all, even atheist struggle to measure ourselves compared on how many people we have in our life? We are hardwired and programmed to crave love. The Lord did this because He loved us so much, He wanted us to know how it felt to love and be loved. We are all in this life together, God has given us each other as brothers and sisters to love each other, and to keep each other true to our love of the Father. Remember we are only able to love, because He first loved us. But He has given us the ability to love Him back and to love each other. I hope and pray no one ever misses out on a single day of feeling loved. If you know of anyone who is missing out on that wonderful feeling, the feeling that you know someone cares and is always there for you, please extend a loving hand to that person. Extend a loving hand to everyone you meet, to make sure no one ever misses out on a chance to feel loved. And then love your Lord, by thanking Him for the love you have in your life.
The story of Kathryn, the blind elderly lady, is really the story of humanity. We rebel against God and convince ourselves we don't need His love or care. We tell ourselves we can manage just fine on our own. However, when tough times come, and we actually aren't able to take care of ourselves, we learn and remember why we worship the God we do. He is always there for us, the Holy Spirit is in our hearts, giving us the ability to open up to God's love. He paid the ultimate price to show us how much He loves us. He sacrificed His only Son, to show each one of us "touch me not's" that no matter how hard we resist His love, He still loves us and has paid the price for our sins. Through Jesus, we know the love He has for us. Through Jesus, we are able to show that love to others around us. Through Jesus, we are able to receive hugs, smile, and know we are redeemed children of God, who is truly the only one able to satisfy our hearts desire for love.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you so very much for love. You first loved us as Your children, which allowed us to love each other. You loved us enough to send Your Son, to show and teach us Your love. You sent Your one Son to save us from our sins, purely out of Your love for us. Let us never forget the love You have for us, let us never forget to love You back, and let us never forget to show each other the love You showed us. Lord, let me be able to share Your love with everyone I meet tomorrow at the Sherbrook Nursing Home, and let it be a positive experience. We also pray that You be with those who don't know Your love. Help all Your children who do know Your love, to reach those who do not. Let us all join together in Your love at home in Heaven someday. We pray all of this and all our prayers through our ever loving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three in One, now and forevermore. Amen.
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