I am going to rewind a bit, and look at how well I have been meeting the goals that I set for myself before the semester started (you can read the full blog here). Let's see how I am doing:
1. Be involved in the house
Things are going pretty well here. I am not always cooped up in my room, and if I am in my room Cher is around to share company with. We have bedtime stories with "Grandma Callie" a few times a week, and we do house dinners on Sunday's (which I have not been to yet because I am always gone on Sunday nights). I enjoy the community of girls and hope to become better friends with them as the year progresses.
2. Join a Passion/Bible study group
This has sort of happens in a few ways. My house has been hosting a bible study over Luke every Wednesday. I was only able to make it once. My darkroom lab always goes overtime and so I am never able to make it. Last week I could have gone, but I forgot about it and went shopping instead, but I listened in a little.
The other way I have been involved is through CAUSE. We have a small group that meets a few times a week. And though we don't do a "Bible Study" per se, we have been able to have very good, meaningful conversations - similar to what I had in my passion group. This has been very valuable for me.
I have found that I am starting to be a little more mentally involved in my Evangelical Theology class, which has been good for me. We just wrote a paper on a book called "Knowledge of the Holy" which I found very interesting, even though I only had time to skim it. I would like to go back and look at it again someday. I am gathering information and sources for a bigger research paper, and am actually looking forward to writing it (a little). The topic I chose is women's ordination and the conflict of that in the Christian church. To make it a bit easier to understand, here is my current thesis:
"Women are not widely accepted as leaders in all denominations of the Christian Church. An analysis will reveal the arguments for and against female pastors, and how the conflict ensued, developed, and has been established as a common view in today's church."
While I don't know if I would say I am succeeding in my original goal, I do think that I am headed in a good direction.
3. Have regular friend dates
One great thing about living in a house is that I get to see friends all the time! My roommate and I go on "roommate bonding date/outings" on a regular basis, which has been great! There are a few other people that I have met up with for dinner and coffee, but it has gotten harder as things have become busier. I hope that I can continue to be more and more persistent and consistent in meeting with friends. They are so wonderful, and I don't want to waste the time we have together.
4. Build new friendships
This has certainly happened. Being a part of CAUSE has really helped with this because I am able to meet with people I met at the beginning of the year on a fairly regular basis. I am so glad for this. Also, I have made and effort to be a bit more social with people in my classes. There are so many people I know in the art department that I haven't really sat down and had a good conversion with. This year, since I have had labs, casual conversation is much more common for me than in the past.
5. Seek first His kingdom
Last, but certainty most important, my relationship with God. It has been a challenge, but I have been trying very hard to rebuild my relationship with Him. I have always taken advantage of the fact that He is always there and will always keep up "His end of the bargain" if you will (but I don't think that is the best phrase that could be used here).
There was a time not so long ago that I was so sick of "Christians" and there shallow talk about God that it left a bitter taste my my mouth. I never had anything against God personally. The thing about not abiding with God, is every time you hear His name it reverberates in your head. It is almost a cause of jealousy. Of course, I never would have seen that in the midst of this time, but my utter disgust and frustration was probably a result of my deep longing to abide. And since I didn't know how to get there, that taste wouldn't go away. Learning to abide with God takes effort. I am still working on that part, but you cannot be in close relation with Him if you never seek Him. Pursuing Him is the key, but the funny thing about pursuing God is that he never really leaves- we have to move ourselves closer to Him.
The long and short of it is, yes I am seeking His kingdom. Seeking Him first? I am still working on making it a priority. I want to, but still learning how. I have a feeling it will be something that I have to work on for my entire life.
