Very quick thought:
what i have found to be overwhelmingly true at Howard Payne so far is the stunning magnitude of my spiritual growth that is, as of right now, outshining any light that my higher education could aspire to shed.
Moving to Brownwood, I came with this preconceived notion that a tiny podunk town automatically meant that there would be no outlet for passionate, abandoning-all-else, praising, thankful, moving, swirling, loving, wealth-sharing, burden carrying, crying, laughing worship or a church that genuinely functioned like the church in Acts-never forgetting that their possessions mean nothing, always remembering that we are the bride of Christ and are responsible for doing life with each other, enhancing each other's lives with fellowship. But it was wrong to think that and I am happy that I was wrong.
I am involved in a lifegroup on wednesdays that meets in a young couple's house. They make spaghetti for all of the college kids(which we affectionately call "Wen-sghetti") and we DO LIFE and POUR INTO EACH OTHER and HOLD NOTHING BACK and LET OUT HONESTY. We are reading A Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and it is changing every aspect of my life by shedding light and giving breath to things that I regarded as dark and lifeless, stagnant and not worth my time, antiquated and irrelevant. I have never been more aware of things I have neglected and have since realized that because I have neglected to do those things that we, as Christians, are called and commanded to do- I have been dwelling in the dark kingdom by being closed off to so much LIGHT that pierces through uncertainty, fear, hopelessness, loneliness, pridefulness, loud noisiness of the soul, clutter of the mind, and all around fuzziness that I have and still do experienced many a time in my life.
blessings are falling on my head, slowly running like oil- anointing my life with the peace Jesus gives to me as I learn and listen.
