Learning by Paradox

This is a prayer from The Valley of Vision that I came across today. It stuck out to me because the idea of paradoxes in the Christian life has been on my mind a lot as our staff team has been preparing for our Christmas conference, the theme of which is "paradox." I love how this speaks to the complexity of God's character and the way he uses trials, sin and sorrow to show us more of himself, not less. Everything good in me is a gracious gift from Him. So often I try and try to confine God into a box, to get him in a place where i can understand him. This reminds me that I am so glad he is not like I think he is! I am grateful that he is a God who is immeasurably more powerful, humble, gracious, and sovereign than I can imagine. This prayer reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, which comes after the theme verse we are using for the conference (1 Cor. 1:18):

"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

So here it is- hope it encourages you like it did me!

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold

thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter

thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

Thy life in my death,

that every good work or thought found in me

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty

thy glory in my valley.

Highlights from the past month!

• Halloween- a few of us went trick-or-treating with the Josephs and the Creasmans. You can sort of see, but the kids were adorable- a lion, a dragon, and Elmo. It was so much fun! Our adult to child ratio was about 3:1, so we switched off the kids so that everyone could get some candy J

• We also had a Halloween party at our house for Furman students to come to. There were some great costumes- Juno, mail order brides, jazzercisers, a cow, and a polar bear, to name a few! My roommates and I dressed as a pumpkin patch:

• I painted my room! Maybe it wouldn’t be a highlight to some, but I am all about decorating and making things feel homey, so I’ve been dying to paint my room since I moved in. Definitely not a professional job, but with the help of a couple of my roommates we finished it pretty quickly!

• We had a staff women’s retreat for 2 days last week. Once a month, our entire regional staff team comes together in Greenville for an all-day meeting. I love these meetings because we get to see all the staff, but by the end of the day everyone is pretty exhausted. The staff women had the privilege of getting a 2 day retreat after our staff meeting this month! One of the families at the church has a beautiful lake house on Lake Keowee, and we went for 2 nights and had some time to rest and hang out with each other. It was huge for me- not only to get some time away and spend extended time with the Lord and with friends, but also to get to know some of the staff women better.

• The office team has been busy planning for our annual conference over the New Year holiday. Each year, we plan a 4 day conference for students to come to to get great teaching, connect with students from other campuses, and grow in their relationship with Jesus. I went to this conference all four years as a student and LOVED it. Not only did I always walk away having learned a ton, it is also one of the most fun weeks ever. Last year, we moved the conference from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., and we will be returning to DC this year! The theme of the conference is “Paradox,” taken from 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” If you are interested in learning more about the conference, the website is www.paradox2009.com.

• This weekend Jacqueline and I are driving up to Western Carolina to help with a women's retreat for one night. The retreat will focus on Jesus being ENOUGH for us- enough to satisfy all of our needs and desires, and how that influences all of our relationships and friendships. I am excited to get to spend some time around Western girls and experience their retreat with them!

Genna's wedding and first weeks of work!

It has been a crazy last couple of weeks, to say the least! Three weeks ago, my older sister Genna got married. The wedding was in Greenville and was so much fun! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

My beautiful sister and me!

My discipleship group from Furman- so fun to see them!

My best friends from Birmingham who made the trek to Greenville :)

Adding to the craziness, I moved to Greenville for good when we came for the wedding. Let the post-college transition begin. I am definitely not a fan of change, but God has been really gracious in making things transition pretty smoothly so far. It has been so fun moving into my house and getting settled, and it is nice to be in one place for good! I am still raising support, but have started work in the office and am working on support from here. The Lord has brought my support to 95%! I am so thankful. Please continue to pray with me that he would provide the remaining amount!

The past two weeks, I have been sort of “learning the ropes” of the office. One of my roommates, Jacqueline, has been working in the office for the past 4 years, so she has been teaching me her ways. It’s going to take me awhile, but I really like it so far! I have been helping with making Bible studies, processing people’s support, doing communication/email stuff, and planning for our upcoming staff days (full day staff meetings that happen once a month).

Part of my job is also to babysit for staff families' kids a couple of days a week. This frees them up to meet with students, connect with each other, and do whatever else having kids makes it hard to get done! I love this part of my job so far- not only are all of these kids absolutely adorable, but it has been a huge blessing to spend time with each of these families as a whole!

So... with all of these different elements, my schedule is different from most: Here is a typical week in case you are curious!

Sunday: help with Sunday School, work on office stuff from 1-5

Monday: work in office, 9:30-5:30, babysit Josephs (directors of COG) at night

Tuesday: work in office 9:30-12, Sabbath Tuesday afternoon-Wednesday morning

Wednesday: Sabbath in morning, then babysit Lightcaps (campus directors at Wofford College) from 12-4

Thursday: Babysit Josephs in morning, lead discipleship group Thursday night

Friday: office from 9:30-5:30

Saturday: free!

This semester, my friend Sarah and I (also on staff with CO) are leading a discipleship group of 5 junior girls- Hannah, Julianna, Andrea, Sarah Grace, and Marilyn. We have met twice so far, and it made me so excited for what the Lord will do through this group. We will be studying the book of Ephesians together this semester, and a verse I have been meditating on the past few days is this: “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” –Ephesians 1:5-6

So much of my life is dictated by fear and a hesitancy to trust God fully. I read this and am reminded of his character- he is a loving Father, he works ALL things for the good of those who love him, and he chose me to be set apart- it was nothing of my doing, and his grace is more abundant and marvelous than anything I could imagine. I love meditating on the fact that I am God’s beloved, but this emphasizes that Christ is THE Beloved, and yet through him we are made co-heirs of the inheritance only he deserves.

Please pray for both Sarah and me and the girls we lead- that we would pursue God through his Word and be struck and changed by the worthiness of Christ!

Provision and Promise

First blog post ever? I am hoping that this blog will help friends and family stay updated on what the Lord is doing in my life during my time in Greenville on staff with Campus Outreach. Right now I am working to finish up support, which God has provided ABUNDANTLY for- He has brought me to about 88%! All this in 2 months. It blows me away when I think through the process, and how at 50% I was telling people, "I have no idea where the rest of this is going to come from," and then saying the same thing at 60%, 70%, and so on- but God has been consistently faithful, not only in bringing support in, but also in reminding me over and over that it is not my work/merit that is winning me support- it is the Lord and his sovereign provision. It has made me think more and more about what it means to walk by faith and not by sight- trusting that the Lord provides the means for what he calls us to. Support-raising has been an exhausting and sanctifying process for me, but one that has made me see so much more of my need for Christ and the way he loves to fulfill all of my needs-- financial, physical, emotional, etc.

The verse I have been claiming this summer has been Psalm 138:8- "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me." I love the simplicity of that promise. It makes me want to let out a huge sigh as I am reminded that my life is not in my control and it is not my own- and this applies during any season of my life, not just support-raising. The entirety of Psalm 138 is a psalm of thanks, for the way the Lord NEVER abandons the works of his hands. He carries them to completion, because he is a God of consistency, abounding in steadfast love. I love that there are 2 things David praises the Lord for exalting- the name of the Lord and the word of the Lord. These are the two things that endure.

My hope and prayer is to be finished with support by September 21st- right after Genna's wedding! Things are definitely crazy right now with last minute preparations, but I am so excited for her big day to finally be here and for the Dietrichs to be official. I have moved my stuff into my house in Greenville, where I will be living with 5 other ridiculously fun girls- Mary Beth, Jacqueline, Emilie, Lindsay, and Katherine. Mary Beth, Lindsay, and Jacqueline are also on staff with Campus Outreach, and Katherine and Emilie work in Greenville.

Hopefully I will have another update soon :) I honestly never thought I would be a blogger...