December

Well, it's the end of the year- can you believe it? The end of the semester has rivaled the beginning in terms of busyness. I thought I would recap and fill you in. My December is broken down into four parts:

Part one: The end of my first semester at FSU.

It's hard to believe a whole semester has passed by! We have been so busy! Our Bible study concluded in summarizing what we learned and what impacted us each the most. It was really awesome to hear how the girls grew in their heart for God's word. I asked the girls to write down what they're taking away this semester from our study, and here is what Denise wrote:

“I’ve learned a lot about spending time alone with God. It’s helped me to start spending time reading the Bible and talking to God about anything.”

How exciting to labor with the Lord on campus to see these young women grow!

Our last event together was the Christmas party, and it was quite an event indeed! We had over 75 people over to our house for snacks, the Christmas story, and a White Elephant gift exchange. It was a blast! Lots of delicious food! Deb shared from the gospel of John the Christmas story. Some of you might be thinking, John doesn't include that story. Well, Deb helped us see that he does!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:1-5, 9-12, 14

Jesus, the Word of God in flesh, came to communicate (as words do) to us who God is. We see here that Jesus has always been, from the beginning before creation, and it was through him that all things were made. John explains here that he brought two things: light and life. He is light in a very dark world, bringing to us life abundant and life eternal. So in this it's important to realize that God, who is limitless, not confined to space or time, made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:5-11). He chose to confine himself in time and space, to a human body, prone to sin and decay (yet he was without sin). And what's wild to think about is that he didn't begin as a baby, but as a fetus! You can't get much smaller or weaker than that! But He chose to make himself nothing, out of deep love for us.

Sadly, as he came into the world, his own did not recognize him. In fact, they hated, opposed, beat, and crucified him. Yet all along he knew this would be, and he chose to come anyway. Wow. And the good news is that for those who do receive him, we are blessed to be called His children. How amazing.

So the Word became flesh, and Mary was instructed to name him Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21); Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14). He made his dwelling among us, no longer a distant God, hard to relate to and understand. A man? Yeah, I think we can all relate to that. Now that's a new perspective on the Christmas story, one to rejoice over and celebrate this Christmas! God is with us. Amen.


Part two: Back to Ft. Myers.

After things on campus were wrapped up, I headed back down to Ft. Myers to meet my brother there to work on things at my mom's house. I've explained before how much I hate going there. Mostly because it's so painful and depressing; it's like ripping open a wound again. We spent 5 long, hard, grueling days at the house. What's more, the water isn't working. No clean water. No showers. No toilet. Perfect.

But I experienced the grace of God in that house. He provided. We didn't go hungry, we had a place to shower (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Sutkowy!) and a place to sleep, and we got a lot of work done. We mostly concentrated on sifting through everything we could find. We sorted and packed up books; went through every cabinet, throwing tons of half-used products away, saving what was useful; went through basically everything we've owned, trying to decide what's worth keeping; found every receipt, every check, every tax document my mom kept (the earliest dating all the way back to 1989!) and enjoyed a warm burn pile; packed up boxes; made a couple trips to goodwill; cleaned up the garage; worked on the car left behind; and discovered and saved many forgotten treasures. We must have had nearly two dozen bags of trash by the time we left.

Once we finished our work at the house, we rented a truck and hauled all the treasures we couldn't part with up to Tallahassee. It's hard to explain how strange it is to fit your whole childhood memories, every piece left of someone you love and miss so much, into a single closet. I know it sounds crazy, but choosing what to save and what to let go was like saying goodbye to my mom over and over again. It was incredibly difficult.

But God's word was my saving grace. He pressed three passages from Luke on my heart the entire time we were there:

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11

When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, he encouraged them not to be afraid. It's hard and scary to let go of things. Our things, our family and loved ones, our past usually bring us comfort. Jesus was calling them to follow him, which meant they had to leave all these things behind. But he said, "Don't be afraid." He was calling them to something so much greater- to go after the souls of men! For that, they trusted him and left everything, their whole lives, behind.

The next passage is this:

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

"When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere."
Luke 9:1-6

So first he called them, then he began training them, and now he sends them out. Again, we see a sacrifice is required. He commands them to take nothing for the journey. No money. No food. No clothes. They had no place to call home. He was calling them to step out in faith and trust him to provide everything they needed. And as we continue to read on in the gospel and the New Testament, we see that he does. I know the circumstances are different, but the principle is the same. Things slow us down; we don't needed them. Eventually, everything is going to be destroyed. What we need to be doing is trusting the Lord to provide, storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven where moths and rust do not destroy, where thieves cannot steal (Matthew 6:20).

The final passage is this:

The Cost of Being a Disciple

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Luke 14: 25-35

If anything is of value, it comes with a cost. And that includes following Jesus. There are three things in this passage that Jesus says are required, or we cannot be his disciple (not that he won't let us, but that it's impossible):

1. Love him more than anyone, even family (verse 26)
2.Carry our cross and follow him (verse 27)
3. Be ready and willing to give up everything we have (verse 33)

All of these requirements call for us to trust him. One point of note here is that we have a cross to bear. This doesn't just mean that we must deny ourselves, but also that we each are given a specific cross to bear. This produces experience from which we are able to more effectively minister to others in similar circumstances. The Greek word "Hupomone" means "to remain under." Most of the time, I want so badly to leave all of this behind, escape, and start anew. But God's plan's include Hupomone, to remain under, to endure suffering. It's difficult, but it's here we experience the grace of God.

So the whole time in Ft. Myers I experienced that, constantly reminded of these verses, and heard over and over again "Trust me, Victoria. Don't be afraid. You don't need these things, you need only me."

Part three: Summit II.

We left Ft. Myers on a Thursday, spent the night in Tallahassee, and then the next afternoon I traveled to Orlando in order to fly out to Colorado Springs for Navigator Staff Training. It was a quick and emotional turn around. But boy was I excited for something good. I LOVE the Glen and I LOVE my fellow EDGErs! It was so refreshing to be in one of the most beautiful places on earth for a week, receiving training, spending time in God's word, and catching up with so many great friends. Some of the workshops we had included Asking Questions, the New Testament, and the Life of a Missionary. Some highlights: a dinner murder mystery, a huge snowball fight, a day in Manitou Springs, a dance party, games by the fire, exploring the castle, meeting with Cynthia from PRT, seeing REAL snowflakes for the first time, and a winter hike up to Dawson's grave. Oh, what good times. I didn't want to leave. But I had somewhere else wonderful to travel to! From Colorado I flew to Washington to spend Christmas with my brother and Heidi.



Part four: Washington.

This part is unfinished, because I'm still here! And loving it! I arrived Friday night, we drove from Seattle to Anacortes, and then the next morning they had a surprise for me. All I knew was that I had to pack an overnight bag. We left on an adventure, drove through the Cascade mountains, and arrived in Leavenworth, WA. This Bavarian town has a Christmas light festival every year, and it was so beautiful! There was so much to see and do: delicious food, Christmas shopping, sledding, carols, an old bookstore, and the lighting of the whole town! Somehow, the snow had perfect timing: it started once we arrived and made the festival that much more beautiful. It was a great way to start the visit.

Once back in Anacortes, we found a Christmas tree, brought it home, and decorated it. She's a gorgeous tree. And we had a couple days to finish our Christmas shopping. My brother and I headed into town in his VW Bus; now that was a blast! He loves this thing, and it was so fun to ride with him, receiving glances, and getting compliments from strangers. More than that, it was just great to spend the day with him :) We took our Christmas photo, wrote out our Christmas cards, and wrapped presents.

So far, it's been very busy but good. The past two days have included camping out at Starbucks, getting a lot of much needed work done, and getting ahead for next semester. Christmas hasn't even arrived, but I don't want to leave! Stay tuned for more updates! And thanks for reading :)