Master 227: A Year of Gratitude
It's so easy to fall into a mindset of fretfulness, anxiousness, and worry. At any rate, it's so easy for me to do that. And it's just that kind of attitude that most threatens to overshadow and obscure the many good and wonderful things around me.
Last week I spent Sunday afternoon with one of the families from my church. I did a little work on my computer in the living room, visited with the two youngest kids upstairs, took a phone call in the backyard, napped for an hour on the couch, chatted in the kitchen, ate a bowl of delicious tortilla soup, and met two wonderful relatives (great uncle and aunt) who happened to be visiting that weekend. It's so fantastic and such a blessing to have friends with whom I can spend that kind of time and feel completely comfortable, who are willing to open their home in that way to me. (They're also the friends who together knitted a scarf for me, for Christmas, that I absolutely love.)
That same evening, I visited the young adult group at the Grove Community Church (one of the larger churches in Riverside). That all reminded me of how good it can be (and is) to meet and get to know new people. I spent four hours with that group of people--beginning at their church and ending at a small Mexican restaurant that we absolutely packed out. I get the sense that I'm an extrovert at heart, but it's still the case that meeting new people doesn't come easily to me. For that reason, it's sometimes good to place myself in just that kind of situation, and it's amazing what can happen if you're willing to open yourself up to the possibilities.
On Monday I drove out to APU--of all things just to return a couple library books. I had checked them out two months previously and already renewed them on their one-month due date. I didn't like the idea of driving forty-five minutes just to drop off some books so I called a friend of mine, a professor there, and asked if he was available for lunch. He was. So I had my excuse. I got to campus a bit early and had planned on spending that extra time preparing for the discussion sections that I would be leading at UCR that night. But as I walked through the halls of the Duke Complex, I happened to glance through one of the windows. Inside, I saw Professor Baloian standing at the front of the room. He was lecturing, gesticulating, and he had that twinkle in his eye. At which point, my plans to prep had no chance. I entered the classroom, stood in the back of the room, and just enjoyed listening to his first presentation to his Life & Teachings of Jesus course. It was amazing to watch him work. He truly is a master teacher. He asks wonderful open-ended questions--and then he leaves them open. He's not afraid to let students think. There's a confidence that pervades his presentations. He talked about Luke 8, and it was all pure gold!
I got back to my apartment just in time to catch the post-woman and receive a set of books that I had ordered from Amazon.com. Receiving books in the mail is wonderful. And I was so glad that I had caught her, so that I wouldn't need to make a trip to the post office to pick them up. The little blessings are important to remember. They're the easiest to forget.
I've been loving my school schedule in these first two weeks of the winter term. It was too bad that I could only spend about 25 minutes for lunch on Tuesday with one friend of mine, but besides that, my classes and work have been scheduled pretty well. On Wednesday I met for the first time with a reading group that will be working through Michael Thompson's Life and Action. I'm really excited about that group and was very much helped by the first meeting's discussion. And then, that evening, I got to go to another hockey game! (This one between the (Ontario) Reign and Aces.) Spending time with friends is great. And so is dinner at the Hat.
I made the mistake (just kidding) this week of giving my students homework. I'm still working through the 60+ assignments that I received. But I'm excited to be teaching and trying to explain ideas and concepts. It's very challenging but it's also neat when the students start to get it. If things work out, I'll be able to teach Ethics and the Meaning of Life this summer. I'll have a TA helping me out (which is the part that most freaks me out--teaching in front of one of my peers) and will get to work with about 50 students.
Of course there are still challenges. My hearts been a bit heavy lately as I think about my work at my church. There are some tough issues there. And it's still very easy for me to slip into a mindset that is anxious and fretful. But I have great friends who help me out with this. Yesterday I had lunch with one of them. And I talked with two of them on the phone earlier this week. I'm still trying to explore and learn new things.
One more thing I'll add, I worked for about four hours, on Friday, on a blog entry on John 11, which is already posted. By the time I was done, it was over 5000 words (almost eight single-spaced pages). I told a couple friends of mine, "I should not be allowed to have this much fun."
And everything I've described here is just a fraction of what's been going on with me. I think "these kinds" of blogs must be the most tedious for other people to read, but they are valuable for me. Because even some of the things that I mentioned in this entry, I had already forgotten by the time Saturday rolled around. As I was reading a few jotted notes in my journal, I realized that I had forgotten about visiting APU and how wonderful that was. If it's that easy for me to forget the blessings I received five days ago, how can I expect to keep a realistically positive outlook on life? Only by reminding myself.
What about you? How has your week been? Think about it.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Last week I spent Sunday afternoon with one of the families from my church. I did a little work on my computer in the living room, visited with the two youngest kids upstairs, took a phone call in the backyard, napped for an hour on the couch, chatted in the kitchen, ate a bowl of delicious tortilla soup, and met two wonderful relatives (great uncle and aunt) who happened to be visiting that weekend. It's so fantastic and such a blessing to have friends with whom I can spend that kind of time and feel completely comfortable, who are willing to open their home in that way to me. (They're also the friends who together knitted a scarf for me, for Christmas, that I absolutely love.)
That same evening, I visited the young adult group at the Grove Community Church (one of the larger churches in Riverside). That all reminded me of how good it can be (and is) to meet and get to know new people. I spent four hours with that group of people--beginning at their church and ending at a small Mexican restaurant that we absolutely packed out. I get the sense that I'm an extrovert at heart, but it's still the case that meeting new people doesn't come easily to me. For that reason, it's sometimes good to place myself in just that kind of situation, and it's amazing what can happen if you're willing to open yourself up to the possibilities.
On Monday I drove out to APU--of all things just to return a couple library books. I had checked them out two months previously and already renewed them on their one-month due date. I didn't like the idea of driving forty-five minutes just to drop off some books so I called a friend of mine, a professor there, and asked if he was available for lunch. He was. So I had my excuse. I got to campus a bit early and had planned on spending that extra time preparing for the discussion sections that I would be leading at UCR that night. But as I walked through the halls of the Duke Complex, I happened to glance through one of the windows. Inside, I saw Professor Baloian standing at the front of the room. He was lecturing, gesticulating, and he had that twinkle in his eye. At which point, my plans to prep had no chance. I entered the classroom, stood in the back of the room, and just enjoyed listening to his first presentation to his Life & Teachings of Jesus course. It was amazing to watch him work. He truly is a master teacher. He asks wonderful open-ended questions--and then he leaves them open. He's not afraid to let students think. There's a confidence that pervades his presentations. He talked about Luke 8, and it was all pure gold!
I got back to my apartment just in time to catch the post-woman and receive a set of books that I had ordered from Amazon.com. Receiving books in the mail is wonderful. And I was so glad that I had caught her, so that I wouldn't need to make a trip to the post office to pick them up. The little blessings are important to remember. They're the easiest to forget.
I've been loving my school schedule in these first two weeks of the winter term. It was too bad that I could only spend about 25 minutes for lunch on Tuesday with one friend of mine, but besides that, my classes and work have been scheduled pretty well. On Wednesday I met for the first time with a reading group that will be working through Michael Thompson's Life and Action. I'm really excited about that group and was very much helped by the first meeting's discussion. And then, that evening, I got to go to another hockey game! (This one between the (Ontario) Reign and Aces.) Spending time with friends is great. And so is dinner at the Hat.
I made the mistake (just kidding) this week of giving my students homework. I'm still working through the 60+ assignments that I received. But I'm excited to be teaching and trying to explain ideas and concepts. It's very challenging but it's also neat when the students start to get it. If things work out, I'll be able to teach Ethics and the Meaning of Life this summer. I'll have a TA helping me out (which is the part that most freaks me out--teaching in front of one of my peers) and will get to work with about 50 students.
Of course there are still challenges. My hearts been a bit heavy lately as I think about my work at my church. There are some tough issues there. And it's still very easy for me to slip into a mindset that is anxious and fretful. But I have great friends who help me out with this. Yesterday I had lunch with one of them. And I talked with two of them on the phone earlier this week. I'm still trying to explore and learn new things.
One more thing I'll add, I worked for about four hours, on Friday, on a blog entry on John 11, which is already posted. By the time I was done, it was over 5000 words (almost eight single-spaced pages). I told a couple friends of mine, "I should not be allowed to have this much fun."
And everything I've described here is just a fraction of what's been going on with me. I think "these kinds" of blogs must be the most tedious for other people to read, but they are valuable for me. Because even some of the things that I mentioned in this entry, I had already forgotten by the time Saturday rolled around. As I was reading a few jotted notes in my journal, I realized that I had forgotten about visiting APU and how wonderful that was. If it's that easy for me to forget the blessings I received five days ago, how can I expect to keep a realistically positive outlook on life? Only by reminding myself.
What about you? How has your week been? Think about it.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 9:47 PM
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