And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. -Sylvia Plath
We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect. - Anaïs Nin
I made a decision to start writing again.
(Mainly inspired/encouraged by a cool guy named
Dave)
And even though it bugs me to be starting on such a random day —a Wednesday, the 21st—this decision would be meaningless without action. So here I am, 10 months and 14 days since my last post, writing. Picking up where I left off...
twelve.
Praise God for bringing me to Fresno Pacific.
There are many reasons I'm thankful I went to FPU and near the top of the list are the professors like the ones above who taught, challenged and encouraged me both in and out of the classroom. I recently realized that December will mark TWO years of being a college graduate. What a blessing to still be able to call professors like these three mentors and friends.
thirteen.
How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
-Psalm 119:9-16
Praise God for His Word.
One of my professors, the one pictured on the right above, introduced me to a new way of approaching the Bible. For each class he taught, he chose a passage that we would read at the beginning of each class period. Let me be clear, we read the same passage every class session. I remember thinking that it was weird and well, boring at first. But eventually this practice helped me to understand that the Bible is the Living Word of God, speaking anew to us each time we read it. I was reminded that the Bible wasn't simply a tool or resource to use to write papers and tell stories, but that it provides another way for God to reveal Himself to us.
Still on this train of thought; this summer I was challenged to memorize Psalm 121 with the Midweek Kids Connection team. Honestly, it had been years since I had intentionally worked on memorizing Scripture and I must say, I really enjoyed it! I loved being able to recall an encouraging passage to a friend when they were feeling down. I liked it so much I decided I wanted to memorize something else. So, I've (just barely) begun memorizing the Gospel of Mark. I know a whole book is a big jump from a single (short) Psalm, but I figured, why not? I thought it'd be a good idea to choose a Gospel, so I chose Mark because a) I took a Bib Lit class on it in college and b) it's the shortest, ha. I've currently got down the first...eleven(?) verses, so I've got quite a ways to go (biggest understatement). But feel free to check in on me and make sure I'm actually making time to work on it! I'm thinking it'd be nice to have it all memorized by the end of the year.
Whew, I can really tell I haven't been writing. Here's to hoping I get back into the swing of it really soon!
