(no subject)
Hey. Haven't posted in a week or so.
So this has probably been the best weekend I've had in a few months. I've been so busy and productive this weekend. I met so many people this weekend and I've learned so much this weekend; it's really incredible how God or fate or whatever you believe in works...
I think He really made me open my eyes and made me think. I mean, I really think a lot. Maybe more than I should. And most of the time, I evaluate myself and make sure I'm on the right track. So this is a long story with all my thoughts and reflections included.
I've always believed that there was a God or something or someone out there that we can't see that created the world and is watching over us. I didn't really think about it at first and never took the time to. I mean, "big bang theory"- blah blah blah. They told me that- ok. so where did all the stuff that flew out of the big bang come from? Where did time come from?
So I figured out all that stuff and started to really think about what I believed in last July. So you know, I started asking erin questions about christianity and the bible. And I started going to church with the Pauls. And I found out what I needed to do to get saved, and I got saved. But sometimes I'd find myself confused and having a lot of questions that I never really figured out. Bible passages confused me sometimes. And you know, sometimes I'd ask myself if I was a real Christian. Did I really believe in God and Christianity? I never found myself as a "strong" christian.
Well now I think I'm starting to be a "strong" Christian.
I think it started last week. And it was weird how it all worked out, ya know? I'm really not a big fan of all the drinking and partying at late hours every night at college. And as I started to walked around campus, I looked at everyone the same. They seemed just like you to your face, but you had no idea what they did in their apartment or dorm. And I think because there are so many people that drink and party all the time at college, I kind of started assuming that everyone was like that. Cause I'm in a dorm where everyone loves to party. And I started kind of developing an image of what kind of people drink and party and what they would look like, and how they would act and talk- more or less people that were "popular"... I guess. And I had really wanted to find a group of Christian friends here. But I think that because I sort of assumed that everyone was a party-er, I never found any Christian friends... when I really was surrounded by them.
Last week, I was working at the Hartt Information Desk for the Work-Study program, a part of my financial aid. And I was still thinking that if Christianity existed on campus, that it wasn't gonna be found in the music building. It was just a natural thought because I've never met a Christian that was really into music or going into a music career besides Erin Paul. And so I was working with this other girl and I only knew that her name was Rachel. She was a sophomore and had been working there for about a year. And I was doin somethin and I didn't really feel like talking. And she didn't really talk to me either. But then it felt kinda weird that I was working with someone and not talking to her. So I asked her about her major and other stuff and then started talking about siblings and she said that she had a sister that went to Gordon. And I told her that I knew a few people that went to Gordon and I asked her about Gordon and how it was a christian-based school. And she started talking about how her family was very religious. "And she said, ok, that's the second time you or your brother have talked about church and stuff. Are you a christian too?" And we started talking a lot about religion and other stuff. And it was weird! So weird how we both thought like... exactly the same way. WEIRD. And we talked about other stuff too. She's from Massachussetts and she commutes, driving 45 minutes to an hour to get to Hartt everyday, which I thought was really interesting. She said she never tried the dorms, but really expected that she would hate it cause of all the alcohol and partying. So she starts talking to me about the Intervarsity-Christian Fellowship and when they meet.
-So wait... I said I done a lot of reflection and learned a lot over the weekend. So let's rewind. What if I had just sat there and never said anything to her cause I didn't feel like talking?
God (fate- whatever you believe in) works in so mysterious ways... I knocked and He answered. Just like that. So whatever you believe in... live life like there is no tomorrow. Take chances. Leap and land wherever you land.
Something the pastor said in the sermon this morning really got my attention: Sometimes we don't understand God's plan. In fact, most of the time we don't understand it. That's ok. We're not supposed to. He's got it under control. Sometimes things don't turn out like you expect. But He's already taking care of it. You're just not supposed to know how it's going to unfold.
So I found the time on Friday night to go to a Intervarsity Bible Study over at Fireside Lounge at Regents. And I met everyone there. Only person I knew was Jaime, who was a horn player. And I donno. She was nice. But I didn't know she was a Christian and was a little surprised. And the first thing that came to mind was... appearance. Judgement by appearance. They all looked really dorky and not that "cool." I didn't think that they'd be fun to talk to and neither would they would they give me such chance. They didn't look like they had ANYTHING in common with me. We went through the bible study and they passed out two books: "Volunteer Revolution" and "Living Beyond Myself." It was my first time there. Didn't really feel comfortable saying anything so I didn't. And some of them talked kinda funny too. The only person there that seemed even a little "normal" was Craig and Eric. And even Craig has a lisp. We went over to the commons to grab dinner. Didn't talk much. I drove over to the orchestra concert with them and Brian. They talked about rockets and stuff- making and shooting them. Stuff I hadn't had any experience with. So we sat with them for the first half of the concert, then moved to better seats. Sandy Hughes was playing a solo with the orchestra. She was a junior and was in the 20/20 performance program, a program that gave her free tuition for the past three years. She had been to all the well-known music festivals all over the country. Anyone in the audience stood for applause after her three-movement performance with the orchestra. It was rediculous. But she looked liked the really serious, mean, and stuck-up type. And she'll play an interesting part in this story too...
So I didn't really do anything on Sunday except go to the gym with Ian and then a Rugby game. We sucked. Never got the ball once the time that I stayed. That game should be illegal. There was an injury every two minutes. Anyone that fell on the ground immediately covered their head. It's way to easy to have your head crushed. People tackled each other so hard and you saw people literally being fllipped up off the ground all over the place. My roomate Ian wants to do it. He's a big guy, so he'll be ok.
So anyway, I got up at 845 Sunday. I donno. I can't really sleep past 9, 930 anymore. I wake up and try to fall back to sleep and my body wants to, but my mind says no. So I showered, got dressed for church. I went to play a little. It was such a nice day out today. I met the Intervarsity people in front of Konover. It was just 1030 and we were waiting on some people. Went inside to grab a garlic bagel and an iced coffee. Ok. And then weird stuff started happening. They started talking to me. I started talking to them. We took a picture in front of Konover. And for the first time since I met them, I let my guard down. And I forfeited any judgements that I developed simply from their appearance. And they seemed really nice and for the first time, very interesting and very cool people. I drove over to Whittonbury Church, a Baptist Church about 10-15 minutes away in Sammi's car. And I started talking to Jaime and Sammi on the way there.
The church and service was great. Honestly, I was really surprised. The church was twice as big as the First Baptist Church of Waterford. And the service had some things we didn't have. They didn't have pews; they used rows of chairs. I liked their music that they picked out, and the setup of the praise band. The service went like this: we did a lot more singing than I was used to, there was a short play, offerings, prayers in between, and then the sermon. The play was great. The pastor did a good job with the sermon and I donno; it kept my attention. I wasn't like, "Is it over yet?" like I usually am at home. We hung out there for a little bit after the service. As the day went on, I found myself having a lot more in common with them. I found myself laughing and smiling all day.
We went back to campus, and I had lunch with them. We hid Craig's camera.
Ok. It was cloudless. So at 2, it was kickball. It was supposed to be a 20/20 with some other Intervarsity Christian people. Then it just turned into whoever we could find. We ended up playing 5 on 6. And it was a good game. Sherri, in brian's saxaphone studio showed up. I did so much running and was so tired by the end. And then, to much surprise, Sandy Hughes showed up, someone that I had previously judged as overly serious about her work, someone that looked mean, and stuck-up. But she was having just as much fun as anyone else and she was really nice. Her parents came to Hartt from Oregon to visit her today. And she actually got baptized this morning. After the game, we sat under a tree in a semi-circle and her dad played the guitar for us. He was a really good guitarist. He showed us this song he played for Sandy that morning when she got baptized. And I donno. it was just really cool. You could tell that she had really loving parents and they had such a great family connection. I donno. It was just... amazing.
Ok. So then I went to eat again with Brian. And I told him the story of my day and said he should come to the evening service. But he didn't end up coming.
So I had a great time at the evening service. We even made smores over a grill. It was just... a great time.
- So. Let's rewind again. I've learned so much this weekend. I mean, I didn't even realize that I thought like that. God really made me open my eyes. I didn't realize that I naturally judged people so much by what they look like instead of what they do. I mean, once I forfeited all of that, I met so many new people, got to know people, and I was just so... happy. I mean...people are peopl. Who am I to judge who they are? Who is anyone to judge who anyone else is? Especially by what people look like? One of the biggest things talked about a lot at church is forfeiting your pride. I think that's what I did today. Yeah, they look kinda funny. But underneath it all, they're really interesting and great people.
A few weeks ago, I decided that that group of people that I belong with are- Christians that are studying music in college. And it's a shame I had only met one other person besides myself ever in my life.
I thought I wouldn't be able to find any Christian friends. It turned out that they were right there in front of me. I thought even if I found any Christian friends they wouldn't have anything in common with me. It turned out that we had EVERYTHING in common- we were ALL in the music program some way or another. Jaime was a Christian. She was in my studio and I didn't even know it. Ya know? I thought I was alone here...
They remind me of the group of Christians Rachel Peed and James are friends with up at Gordon and at home.
Well.
Good night. =)
So this has probably been the best weekend I've had in a few months. I've been so busy and productive this weekend. I met so many people this weekend and I've learned so much this weekend; it's really incredible how God or fate or whatever you believe in works...
I think He really made me open my eyes and made me think. I mean, I really think a lot. Maybe more than I should. And most of the time, I evaluate myself and make sure I'm on the right track. So this is a long story with all my thoughts and reflections included.
I've always believed that there was a God or something or someone out there that we can't see that created the world and is watching over us. I didn't really think about it at first and never took the time to. I mean, "big bang theory"- blah blah blah. They told me that- ok. so where did all the stuff that flew out of the big bang come from? Where did time come from?
So I figured out all that stuff and started to really think about what I believed in last July. So you know, I started asking erin questions about christianity and the bible. And I started going to church with the Pauls. And I found out what I needed to do to get saved, and I got saved. But sometimes I'd find myself confused and having a lot of questions that I never really figured out. Bible passages confused me sometimes. And you know, sometimes I'd ask myself if I was a real Christian. Did I really believe in God and Christianity? I never found myself as a "strong" christian.
Well now I think I'm starting to be a "strong" Christian.
I think it started last week. And it was weird how it all worked out, ya know? I'm really not a big fan of all the drinking and partying at late hours every night at college. And as I started to walked around campus, I looked at everyone the same. They seemed just like you to your face, but you had no idea what they did in their apartment or dorm. And I think because there are so many people that drink and party all the time at college, I kind of started assuming that everyone was like that. Cause I'm in a dorm where everyone loves to party. And I started kind of developing an image of what kind of people drink and party and what they would look like, and how they would act and talk- more or less people that were "popular"... I guess. And I had really wanted to find a group of Christian friends here. But I think that because I sort of assumed that everyone was a party-er, I never found any Christian friends... when I really was surrounded by them.
Last week, I was working at the Hartt Information Desk for the Work-Study program, a part of my financial aid. And I was still thinking that if Christianity existed on campus, that it wasn't gonna be found in the music building. It was just a natural thought because I've never met a Christian that was really into music or going into a music career besides Erin Paul. And so I was working with this other girl and I only knew that her name was Rachel. She was a sophomore and had been working there for about a year. And I was doin somethin and I didn't really feel like talking. And she didn't really talk to me either. But then it felt kinda weird that I was working with someone and not talking to her. So I asked her about her major and other stuff and then started talking about siblings and she said that she had a sister that went to Gordon. And I told her that I knew a few people that went to Gordon and I asked her about Gordon and how it was a christian-based school. And she started talking about how her family was very religious. "And she said, ok, that's the second time you or your brother have talked about church and stuff. Are you a christian too?" And we started talking a lot about religion and other stuff. And it was weird! So weird how we both thought like... exactly the same way. WEIRD. And we talked about other stuff too. She's from Massachussetts and she commutes, driving 45 minutes to an hour to get to Hartt everyday, which I thought was really interesting. She said she never tried the dorms, but really expected that she would hate it cause of all the alcohol and partying. So she starts talking to me about the Intervarsity-Christian Fellowship and when they meet.
-So wait... I said I done a lot of reflection and learned a lot over the weekend. So let's rewind. What if I had just sat there and never said anything to her cause I didn't feel like talking?
God (fate- whatever you believe in) works in so mysterious ways... I knocked and He answered. Just like that. So whatever you believe in... live life like there is no tomorrow. Take chances. Leap and land wherever you land.
Something the pastor said in the sermon this morning really got my attention: Sometimes we don't understand God's plan. In fact, most of the time we don't understand it. That's ok. We're not supposed to. He's got it under control. Sometimes things don't turn out like you expect. But He's already taking care of it. You're just not supposed to know how it's going to unfold.
So I found the time on Friday night to go to a Intervarsity Bible Study over at Fireside Lounge at Regents. And I met everyone there. Only person I knew was Jaime, who was a horn player. And I donno. She was nice. But I didn't know she was a Christian and was a little surprised. And the first thing that came to mind was... appearance. Judgement by appearance. They all looked really dorky and not that "cool." I didn't think that they'd be fun to talk to and neither would they would they give me such chance. They didn't look like they had ANYTHING in common with me. We went through the bible study and they passed out two books: "Volunteer Revolution" and "Living Beyond Myself." It was my first time there. Didn't really feel comfortable saying anything so I didn't. And some of them talked kinda funny too. The only person there that seemed even a little "normal" was Craig and Eric. And even Craig has a lisp. We went over to the commons to grab dinner. Didn't talk much. I drove over to the orchestra concert with them and Brian. They talked about rockets and stuff- making and shooting them. Stuff I hadn't had any experience with. So we sat with them for the first half of the concert, then moved to better seats. Sandy Hughes was playing a solo with the orchestra. She was a junior and was in the 20/20 performance program, a program that gave her free tuition for the past three years. She had been to all the well-known music festivals all over the country. Anyone in the audience stood for applause after her three-movement performance with the orchestra. It was rediculous. But she looked liked the really serious, mean, and stuck-up type. And she'll play an interesting part in this story too...
So I didn't really do anything on Sunday except go to the gym with Ian and then a Rugby game. We sucked. Never got the ball once the time that I stayed. That game should be illegal. There was an injury every two minutes. Anyone that fell on the ground immediately covered their head. It's way to easy to have your head crushed. People tackled each other so hard and you saw people literally being fllipped up off the ground all over the place. My roomate Ian wants to do it. He's a big guy, so he'll be ok.
So anyway, I got up at 845 Sunday. I donno. I can't really sleep past 9, 930 anymore. I wake up and try to fall back to sleep and my body wants to, but my mind says no. So I showered, got dressed for church. I went to play a little. It was such a nice day out today. I met the Intervarsity people in front of Konover. It was just 1030 and we were waiting on some people. Went inside to grab a garlic bagel and an iced coffee. Ok. And then weird stuff started happening. They started talking to me. I started talking to them. We took a picture in front of Konover. And for the first time since I met them, I let my guard down. And I forfeited any judgements that I developed simply from their appearance. And they seemed really nice and for the first time, very interesting and very cool people. I drove over to Whittonbury Church, a Baptist Church about 10-15 minutes away in Sammi's car. And I started talking to Jaime and Sammi on the way there.
The church and service was great. Honestly, I was really surprised. The church was twice as big as the First Baptist Church of Waterford. And the service had some things we didn't have. They didn't have pews; they used rows of chairs. I liked their music that they picked out, and the setup of the praise band. The service went like this: we did a lot more singing than I was used to, there was a short play, offerings, prayers in between, and then the sermon. The play was great. The pastor did a good job with the sermon and I donno; it kept my attention. I wasn't like, "Is it over yet?" like I usually am at home. We hung out there for a little bit after the service. As the day went on, I found myself having a lot more in common with them. I found myself laughing and smiling all day.
We went back to campus, and I had lunch with them. We hid Craig's camera.
Ok. It was cloudless. So at 2, it was kickball. It was supposed to be a 20/20 with some other Intervarsity Christian people. Then it just turned into whoever we could find. We ended up playing 5 on 6. And it was a good game. Sherri, in brian's saxaphone studio showed up. I did so much running and was so tired by the end. And then, to much surprise, Sandy Hughes showed up, someone that I had previously judged as overly serious about her work, someone that looked mean, and stuck-up. But she was having just as much fun as anyone else and she was really nice. Her parents came to Hartt from Oregon to visit her today. And she actually got baptized this morning. After the game, we sat under a tree in a semi-circle and her dad played the guitar for us. He was a really good guitarist. He showed us this song he played for Sandy that morning when she got baptized. And I donno. it was just really cool. You could tell that she had really loving parents and they had such a great family connection. I donno. It was just... amazing.
Ok. So then I went to eat again with Brian. And I told him the story of my day and said he should come to the evening service. But he didn't end up coming.
So I had a great time at the evening service. We even made smores over a grill. It was just... a great time.
- So. Let's rewind again. I've learned so much this weekend. I mean, I didn't even realize that I thought like that. God really made me open my eyes. I didn't realize that I naturally judged people so much by what they look like instead of what they do. I mean, once I forfeited all of that, I met so many new people, got to know people, and I was just so... happy. I mean...people are peopl. Who am I to judge who they are? Who is anyone to judge who anyone else is? Especially by what people look like? One of the biggest things talked about a lot at church is forfeiting your pride. I think that's what I did today. Yeah, they look kinda funny. But underneath it all, they're really interesting and great people.
A few weeks ago, I decided that that group of people that I belong with are- Christians that are studying music in college. And it's a shame I had only met one other person besides myself ever in my life.
I thought I wouldn't be able to find any Christian friends. It turned out that they were right there in front of me. I thought even if I found any Christian friends they wouldn't have anything in common with me. It turned out that we had EVERYTHING in common- we were ALL in the music program some way or another. Jaime was a Christian. She was in my studio and I didn't even know it. Ya know? I thought I was alone here...
They remind me of the group of Christians Rachel Peed and James are friends with up at Gordon and at home.
Well.
Good night. =)