Learn some Greek – talk some end times. Learn some evangelism – talk some church education. Hangout at your friend’s house – watch a movie. Watch your school’s baseball team play at the nearby stadium. Lead worship after curfew. Go work in the office for a little bit. Spend time in prayer.

Miss out on the cafeteria food you already paid for and eat Chinese buffet food that costs a lot just because you want to. A date here, a date there. Homework everywhere. Agendas, meetings, good conversations, dumb conversations, social overload… accomplishments, failures, lessons learned, friendships made, money lost, life goes on and life is good.

THIS IS BIBLE COLLEGE.

I can walk along the sidewalk with my flip-flops and friends, forgetting the stress and demands of class (if only for an hour).  I cherish these times, and the loveliness of it makes the winter worth the contrast.  

Sometimes I neglect to be grateful for such afternoons, while it is the Heavenly Father who creates them and allows us to enjoy them. I cannot help but praise Him with blessings like these.

I find myself falling short of this charge from Pastor Chan – over and over again. Loving God is not something we chase after only out of obligation. We love God because He first loved us – yes, but that is not the only reason we love God. We should love God with mind, soul, body, spirit, heart, will, emotion, intellect… you name it. All of it – dedicated to loving God. Completely.

 My best friend Bethany and I eagerly awaited the arrival of our male companions as we traded lip gloss and grabbed our tickets. While lots of people choose to have dates for this event, many go with groups of friends. I have done both and find that each is exciting in its own way.

 We pulled into the parking lot of a fancy banquet hall in Scranton and hurried inside to find all of our friends excitedly taking pictures and securing their seats at tables near the front. It was incredible to see everyone dressed-up and chattering with enthusiasm about their post-banquet plans. The dimly lit room made everyone appear to be glowing in the thrill of this one special night.

Nights like these are fun. It’s a perfect way to share a few more memories before the end of the year. Our focus isn’t on the clothes or how we look, but more so on cherishing our time together. It was sad to know that my senior friends won’t be here next semester, but banquet was the perfect and happy way to see them off.

I had a blast at banquet – and I have a hundred pictures to prove it.

I was in charge of Mulch Export (loading the wheelbarrows) for the majority of the day. It was cool to use pitchforks, but my hands were hurting, my arms were sore, and my face was kind of dirty. However, as I looked around at the students from every class and dormitory, I saw a body of friends working together out of thankfulness for something God gave to them. Several were singing, most were talking and laughing, but we were all working  for a good purpose. It’s true that BBC has a beautiful campus, you should visit if you haven’t yet had the chance. Feel free to check out this link to schedule a campus visit: www.bbc.edu/visit. 

Sometimes I forget to acknowledge how lucky I am to actually live here. The administration gives me a day off from classes just so I can say “thanks” to the campus where I live and learn and grow. So thanks, BBC. I hope you like the mulch.

Seeker-Sensitive = bowing to the whims of American culture, giving people what they want, and avoiding the hard truths of God’s Word.

Seeker-Sensible = refusing to bow to the whims of culture but communicating the hard truths of God’s Word in a way that connects with a 2010 culture.

Parker Hill Community Church is seeker-sensible rather than seeker-sensitive, and Saturday’s message is the perfect illustration. We are in the middle of a sermon series called “Welcome to my Dysfunctional Family.” The Clarks Summit area is a suburban culture with typical family units – so the sermon series connects with the sub-culture of Clarks Sumimt. We are studying the stories of Jacob, Lot, Samson, Eli, and Timothy.

Tonight’s message was on Samson – we studied passages like Judges 14:1-3 which says, ”Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, ‘I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’ His father and mother replied, ‘Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.’”

I would imagine that a seeker-sensitive church would just stop at these three verses – give a point – and move on – because verse 4 of Judges 14 is a very hard verse. It says, “(His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)”

Parker Hill refuses to be seeker-sensitive in our teaching because we deal with hard passages like this verse. Pastor Mark Stuenzi’s point on verse 4 was this: “God’s sovereignty is greater than any mistake in our (kids) lives.” Seeker-sensitive churches would probably skip verse four. Seeker-sensible churches teach the truth of verse four, but they communicate it with wisdom knowing that we are called to be wise communicators in the middle of a 2010 culture. And the conclusion of the message was a review of the fact that Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross and rose from the dead to reconcile men and women to God. Jesus Christ is the only hope that any dysfunctional family has in this life.

This summer it’s my goal to use the abundant free time (apart from the stereotypical yet necessary “summer job”) and the beautiful weather to walk closer with God. I have the benefit of learning vast amounts about Him and His Word at BBC, and what better time is there to process that information and apply it?  Since BBC is preparing me for ministry, why not employ my new-found skills by getting involved in a summer kids’ program or young girls’ Bible study? After taking my theology classes, I can go to my pastors and Sunday school teachers with question I have about what I have been learning.  Summer is God’s gift to college students, but that doesn’t mean our spiritual lives have to take the back seat, that’s reserved for a guitar and a long-board anyway…

Recently, we’ve had a couple of chapels that have pointedly exposed my fallacy. We have what’s called Praise Chapel where  students are encouraged to share what the Lord has been doing in their lives. And Student Leadership Chapel this morning was similar and equally encouraging. People stood up an talked about sharing their faith with strangers and proof of God’s providence in ways that got me excited! I fail to realize that God loves them and takes care of them just like He does for me.

I have been working on looking for God’s hand in my life, and I have definitely been able to see Him move in huge ways lately. But when I can sit in chapel and hear how He can do the same in others’ lives as well, I’m blown away.

So, it’s not just about my situation anymore. How has God been at work in you?

Early classes, among  a myriad of other responsibilities, can be grueling to the schedule of the modern college student, and sometimes I feel like I just can’t handle it all. It’s true that college life (and life in general) has its share of hardships, but God has a way of balancing them with other blessings.

I started looking for these blessings, and I was astounded by what I discovered. Like that anonymous $1,000 donation to my school bill, that friend that has been a huge encouragement, or that class that is teaching me something about God I cannot ignore.  See, I can handle my routine, no matter how severe, because I have strength from the Lord. Obviously He is working, and I’m just not paying attention.

I could focus on how hard life can be for me, but then I remember:  I have peace with God, and that is what matters most. Psalm 29:11.

Yes, crafts are easy, even in a foreign country. I have had the privilege of being on four missions trips throughout my high school years. One thing I noticed was the fact that making a craft was the easiest way to connect to children and adults in Haiti and Mexico. Crafts opened doors that could not have been opened through the language barrier we experienced.

One of the most effective ways to share the salvation message was through making salvation braclets. Salvation braclets consist of colored beads and can be made to fit infants, children, teenagers, and adults. Along with their adjustability to different sizes, they also explained the message we longed to get across. Each color has a specific meaning: purple- grace, black- sin, blue- water baptism, red- blood of Christ, clear- forgiveness, green- eternal life, and gold- Heaven’s streets. As we instructed them on the order of the colors, we also shared the Gospel message to them.

We also use those braclets here in the states. When people ask me where I got my braclet, I tell them I made it. Then I go right into the meanings of the colors and why I wear it.

Don’t think this can only be done in foreign countries, because your backyard needs to be reached too!