Health Care Bill Failure

Is health care an human right? Have you ever asked yourself this question? If you haven't, then you should. How you answer this question will determine how you would go about voting for the current health care bill before congress. With the recent passing of the bill in the United States Senate, we have failed. We have failed, not because we are pursuing a universal system, but because we have not answered this question. We have failed to take this thought captive. If we continue to allow thoughts to take us captive and not the other way around, then we as a Church, a people, a nation will fail.

Camp is Over

Well, this week we wrapped up our final session of Propel My Life at Covenant College in Georgia. This next week will be spent debriefing the summer here in Pine Mountain. It is a bitter sweet moment. It is unfortunate that my teaching opportunities have ceased for the time being. Yet, I'm glad that camp is over. I have found that camp is not my forte. I have very much enjoyed the time in the classroom. I really feel in my element when I am teaching/preaching. However, as an introvert, it is very difficult for me to be around people all day long. Not just 9 to 5, but also from 5 to 9. This has been very waring on me emotionally and physically. With little alone time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. I have suffered greatly. Yet! God is good. The Lord has seen fit to use this long summer to prepare me for the upcoming school year where interacting with people will be part of my daily routine, and for this I must be prepared. I am thankful for that and know that in His sovereignty, God has given me a taste of what administration is like over the past few weeks.

To all who were praying for me, thank you. Your prayers were felt and God sure blessed me. I look forward to the coming year and serving Biola University as Associated Student President.

Mountain Top Experiences: Old and New

As we pass over the midway point of what will be the final chapter of Propel My Life 2009, I cannot help but stop and look back at what we have experienced this summer. In June, we started our expedition at Covenant College, located in Lookout Mountain, GA. It is truly a lookout on this mountain top. Visibility is almost endless from atop this 2,000 ft summit. The name really suits the location well. This location was a great place to start the summer. We really did start at the top of a mountain, both physically and spiritually. The energy was high during the first week. We were all excited. It was a great first week.
After leaving Lookout Mt, our team experienced some dry spots. There were a couple times where we didn't get things done as well as we hoped or something didn't go as planned. I know I didn't do as good a job of teaching as I'm capable of. The reason why? We lost focus in the mundane. Driving from location to location, setting up and tearing down equipment, all of the ordinary "little" things that we have to do in order to do our job became the focus of our attention. We got lost in the rush and in the noise of camp life.

As we close this summer's adventure, once again we are at the top of Lookout Mountain, some 2,000 ft up in the air. I am reminded of Elijah's mountain top experience in 1 Kings 19. After Elijah proved the prophets of Baal wrong, he fled from the pursuit of Jezebel. When The Lord told Elijah to listen for His voice, Elijah did so but did not find the Lord in the great wind, the earthquake, nor in the fire. It was in a still, small whisper that The Lord spoke. It was in what Elijah didn't expect. As I return to this mountain top, I reflect upon where I have sought to find God. I have searched in places where I expect to find Him. What I forgot, was that God does not always speak in ways that we expect.

In the midst of the driving, and the setting up and tearing down, and even while we ate, and filled out forms, and purchased gas for the van, God has not left us. He has been with us all along the way, in ways we would not expect.

We must remember to look for God in the midst of the "small" things. While we are going from work to home in rush hour traffic, God is still with us and can speak to us. While we are cleaning the table up after supper, God can speak to us. While we ought not cease looking for God in the ordinary places, we cannot neglect those quiet moments where The Lord is subtle, and clear.