Looking Back at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild {part three}

  The next day (Monday) all of the students in the Dramatic Arts were able to go to all of the available classes for that track so that we might be able to see which ones we would like to pursue further after having a bit of experience in them.

  

  My group, rotation group #1, started out by going to Todd Busteed's "Sound Design" class.  At the beginning of the class, Mr. Busteed had each of us introduce ourselves, name our hometown and the most common sound that we would hear in it.  I inwardly snickered.  As some of the students mentioned church bells I was thinking- suburbs = motorcycles?  I would have loved to say, "The waves on the beach- clapping down on the sand, seagulls circling above, children laughing and squealing with delight..." ah, so romantic... but unfortunately I'm too legalistic for that.  Come on, would you really hear that above the cars zooming by on US1?  For anyone else who was in this class with me that may be reading this:  I can be poetic- just way too honest. :-)  I ended up mentioning common sounds in my household- it's home, right?

  One thing that really stuck out to me in Mr. Busteed's class was this: don't wait around for someone to "discover" you.  Don't be waiting for the "right opportunity" to arise in which you can

Looking Back at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild {part two}

  On Sunday afternoon I arrived at Mohonk.  Since it was pouring rain I wasn't really able to see much on the way over but it sure did make what I could see so dreamily romantic!  Everything was blanketed with a soft mist- a mild fog that wrapped around the trees and flowed down the hills and mountains.  The sky looked dark- the mood was reflectively melancholy. Looking back, those of us in Kathy Buchanan's script writing class can see the sheer poetry that God was writing into our lives during that first hour or so in New York... (more about that later.)

  After I had checked in with Mohonk, I went over to the conference center to check in with the Lamplighter Guild- to get my registration packet, name tag, etc.  During this time I was being greeted warmly by acquaintances from the conference back in May as well as being introduced to many new people- I was already having amazing conversations and I hadn't even been checked in for much more than an hour!

  The presence of brotherhood was thick- the common bond of Christ was so strong.  The love that Jesus said that they will know us by was ever present and electrifying the atmosphere.  It was such an amazing first impression!

  Because I was a scholarship recipient, I was asked to write a blog post

Looking Back at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild {part one}

  So, I finally have the time- and a bit of the brain- to write about my experience at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild.

Unfortunately, if I were to write it all into one post, I fear that I would lose you all after a while.  That's why I have decided to break it up a bit... ;-)

Wow... ok, where to start, where to start...

Well, first of all I suppose that I must explain a bit of the "before"...

First of all I must say, God truly seemed to have His hand on this trip.  You all saw my posts from before the Guild- how I was trying to scrape to get enough money for tuition?  Well, my graduation party just so happened to be a day or so before the funds were due- my dear friends and family were extremely generous with me and the Lord provided more than enough for my tuition.

But after the tuition was taken care of, next came the traveling...  how to get there?

  I had not flown since I was about 4 or 5 and my only option to get to the Guild was if I was to fly by myself.  At first the thought totally freaked me out.  Me, having not ridden on a plane for the past 14 years go by myself- go through security and all that creepy stuff- fly all the way

in my weakness

I will get to posting about the Guild- I really will!  This has just been something that has weighed so heavily on my heart that I feel I must share it- and share it now.  It should also be able to throw some light on last week so that you may understand my prolonged absence...


(As you read this, keep in mind that I had just returned from New York the prior Friday!) 

  On Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call from my mom, "Apparently Grandpa is in the ER... we're on our way to the hospital... they don't really know what happened but he just started feeling faint..."  My brain was on the verge of melting-  I didn't know what to do with myself as I was feeling a crazed sense of irony...  Are you serious??? was all my mind could conjure up that would constitute a full thought.

  At the moment that I had taken the phone call I was in a hotel an hour away from my home babysitting four children from our church whose father had gotten into a terrible car accident a full 24 hours prior.  During those 24 hours my family had been split into all different directions- my parents had rushed the wife to the hospital to be with her husband and my sister to their house to babysit the kids.  The kids were now in a hotel room because it made the nursing baby more accessible for feedings and I was watching them in place of my sister.

  I was so tired.  I felt so weak, so drained.  I wanted to go home!  I wanted my mom and dad back- I wanted my sisters- I wanted to tell everybody stories from the Guild....  I wanted to sleep.  I felt weak- so pathetically weak that I'm not sure

well, i'm back...

...to borrow from the words of a favorite literary character, Samwise Gamgee.

Back from where?

You may remember my previous posts on the Lamplighter Guild.

Yesterday I got back- what a week it was!  The only words that I can think of are the sweet yet slightly melancholy, "Well, I'm back..."  to describe how I feel at this moment.

After a much very much anticipated week- one full of sweet fellowship, glorious revelation, and rigorous encouragement- what more can one say?

{Mohonk}

During the week I wrote a guest post on the Lamplighter Guild blog talking about something that really touched me the very first night that I was at the Guild. (You can read it here).

Hopefully I will post more about my week soon- I need to go through my copious notes first. :-)

Have a fabulous day!

it all gets down to...

You know, it's so easy to forget how low one really is.

It feels so natural to get offended when someone wrongs us- instinctual.  When someone says something against us we automatically feel indignant.  

Jesus calls us to wash the feet of the brethren,

"If I then, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

~John 13:14 

This verse sounds so beautiful when we listen to it in church- but when it comes down to actually doing it- it loses it's appeal. Why?

It all gets down to one simple, itty, bitty, one-syllable word that gets pretty much every person in all walks of life on this planet in trouble- on every scale imaginable. 

...

Are you ready?

PRIDE.

It's hard for us to wash someone's feet when we feel that we are better than they are.  

Why should I be washing their feet?  Why can't they wash their own feet???

or better yet,

Why can't they wash my feet?

We remember the first part of the verse- Jesus washed the feet of His disciples- what makes us better than Him?   He's the Maker of the Universe- why wasn't someone washing His feet? 

"For I give you an example that you also should do as I did to you." (vs. 15)

So why do we struggle so badly with pride- even when we consider all this?  I mean, when we put everything in perspective it should be easy to be humble, right?  Wrong. 

I believe that especially us Christians, are magnets for pride.  Why?

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

~John 13:35

Pride gets in the way of our evangelism.  If someone sees us preaching the gospel, telling them how much Jesus loves them- but then we refuse to get our hands dirty by washing our own brother's feet- why would they want to listen to us?

If your unsaved younger brother or sister sees you preaching the gospel on a street corner- but then you treat them like garbage at home- acting annoyed and irritated with them- why would they want to ever become Christians?  They would think that all Christians are hypocrites and want nothing to do with them.

Do you see how deadly pride can be?

Satan's sin was pride- PRIDE got him kicked out of heaven and earned him an eternity of eternal damnation.  

So, now my encouragement to you:

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves."

~Philippians 2:3

I know it sounds redundant- but for me it helps so much for it to be simplified.

Our family has this verse memorized- it's so much easier to think Am I considering this person more important than myself? than to try to get perspective in the moment.

Anyway, just been thinking recently...

Have a fabulous day, my friends!
Now go wash somebody's feet. :-)

let us never forget

When so long ago, our forefathers laid down the foundations for our great country, they loudly preached the cause of liberty.  Freedom was a word ever on their lips and justice was a cause worth fighting for.  Through the pain, the oppression, the violence and persecution that they endured they continued on ever believing that one day their dreams would be a reality.

Thank God that they didn't give up...

On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress.  Sadly, the bloody battle for freedom continued on for years after this but the foundation was laid and the light could be seen at the end of the tunnel.

May we never forget that we now have our freedom here in the United States of America at the heavy cost of blood.  The blood of the soldiers who fought so valiantly for your freedom of rights- and the blood of a Man on a cross who died willingly for your freedom to be forgiven and eternally saved.

Don't you see?

This country was founded by our forefathers, inspired by the work of Jesus Christ!  Our liberties here in this country, sadly, can be taken away eventually- but the gift of God cannot be.  

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

~2 Corinthians 3:17

The work that our forefathers did was only a reflection of what they knew that God did for them some 1,500 years prior.  They were grateful for the sacrifice of Christ and knew that the work which they were doing was merely a trifle in comparison. 

May we never forget the sacrifice of blood that has brought us our freedom- in our country and in our hearts.

Happy Independence Day, my friends!

{I couldn't help but share this song... every time think about the above scripture this song begins to play in my head...}