-that brought me up in my faith

-that surrounded me with people who have supported me for years and years

-that gave me the opportunity to preach on youth sunday twice before I graduated from high school

-that taught me the importance of keeping an open mind

-that truly held to "priesthood of the believer" and didn't tell me what I had to believe

-that when I was 17&18 pushed me to make this faith my own and not my parents'

-that supported and continues to support me as a woman in ministry

-that didn't focus on the differences in denominations but the good in all Christians

-that didn't make a fuss over the "insignificant" things

-that doesn't judge our members, and accepts all people

-that taught me there are very few situations in life that are "black and white"

-that showed me the love of Christ is greater than any doctrinal argument the church might be having

-that taught me how to be a Christian in this world

I'm learning that "freedom" is not so common in many Baptist churches. I find this so ironic considering the whole concept of "priesthood of the believer" which we apparently hold so near and dear. My church was truly unique, and I am only beginning to realize just how much I appreciate it.

I could go on and on about this, and perhaps at some point I will; but for now...

I am simply grateful.

Basically I want to let the masses (sarcastically put) know of a recurring post I am hoping to keep up with. I am currently enrolled in the most amazing class ever...Text and Traditions 3. It includes reading the very influential authors in the Christian circles starting with the Enlightenment to our present day. This class is stretching me by asking those "hard questions" we tend to avoid, and I want to share my thoughts...as immature as they might be. Truth be told I will probably go back to these posts months and years from now and say "I believed that?!?! what was I thinking!" but that's another reason I want to start this. So...just get ready. I will hopefully post the first one soon (I just need to think of a catchy title...)

I thought planning a wedding was busy...boy was I wrong.

So I'm taking Scriptures III for this first part of the summer which covers the Gospels and Acts...well...actually just Mark and Luke...but it's still really good.  I've really enjoyed this class!  First of all one of my favorite professors is teaching it and secondly I get to sit next to Kelly!  So Dr. Arterbury has been really stretching our understanding of the Gospels, having us look very critically at their material, what they share, what they don't share etc.

We looked at the Good Samaritan story this past week.  Now, I'm not going to lie, I was a little cocky here.  I mean it's the Good Samaritan...I've only heard this story a million times!  But Dr. A had us look at it in a new way...

Have you ever noticed that Luke places the Good Samaritan story right before the Mary and Martha story?  (The one where Martha "flips" out b/c Mary won't help in the kitchen...")  Growing up I always heard that Martha was trying "too hard" to please Jesus and she needed to get her priorities straight.  Now I think that's a fair interpretation, but what about what we had just learned as readers through the Good Samaritan story?  That story clearly shows us that we are to help our neighbor, and that everybody is our neighbor.  Most people try to work this out by saying that Martha was going overboard...really though?  I mean this was Jesus, she was just trying to make his stay nice...the Samaritan went through a lot more work to take the man half-dead to an inn and payed 2 denarii (2 days wages) for a complete stranger!  That sounds a little "overboard" to me...so what is it then?  These stories seem so confusing!

This is where Dr. A just looked at us and told us to start thinking.  I just peered over my Bible, figuring that the answer had to be there somewhere.  Everyone was pretty quiet, except for a few guesses every now and then, but none of us were on the right track.  He told us to look at the section as a whole.  Jesus talks to the Lawyer, lawyer asks what gives us eternal life...love the Lord, do unto others...Good Samaritan story...Mary and Martha.  WHERE IS THE ANSWER!  Finally I looked up and said "Jesus is not our neighbor" before I could stop myself.  Dr. A looked at me with a smile and said "Go on Katie..."  To be completely honest I was in shock...did I really say "Jesus is not our neighbor?"  am I going to be kicked out of seminary?  Certainly that's a heretical statement...I just repeated what was said in the Lawyer's story, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and do unto others."  If Jesus corrected Martha it must be because she wasn't supposed to show mercy to Jesus, she was just supposed to love him, like Mary was doing by sitting at his feet.  

whoa!  What a statement!  Jesus is saying that he is the Lord.  Can you imagine what the people in that house must have thought?  That is quite a bold statement to say around your Jewish friends who are all waiting for a king-like Messiah.  I reflected on this passage for the rest of the day.  All God asks of us is to Love him, like Mary, to sit at his feet, listen, and love.  There are no works mentioned, the most important thing is to Love God.  It seems so simple!  How can it possibly be?  But that's what it says.  

This is why I love seminary.  It's just awesome to look at passages you have read your entire life and see them in a brand new, refreshing, way.  The stories never get old because there is always something to learn.

I also like seminary because my professors always like to point out the "pro-women" passages.  And the Mary-Martha story is a big one.  In the ancient world, the act of sitting at someone's feet was to say that they were your teacher and you were their student/disciple.  Mary had the boldness to sit at Jesus' feet, something that a woman would never do.  In a sense she was saying, "Jesus I want to be your disciple" and he praised her.  Luke has MANY passages like this, situations where as people today we don't think anything of it, but in Luke's time would have been huge statements against the cultural norm.  So cool.  

Ok, I'm done...hopefully I can post more things on here as the weeks go on.  A lot is happening!  I mean I'm getting married in 14 days! wow!  In fact all i have to do is write a 12-15 page paper (already have 3) and go to three more days of class before I go home on Friday!  Life is so good right now.  I am so blessed!  

I leave you with 2 pictures from our "luau" a few weeks ago!

Not gonna lie, i think i've watched this about 25 times...i'm just so proud of him!

I could not be more excited and nervous about this amazing opportunity to minister.  At times I feel this is way out of my league, but every time without fail God somehow gives me a sign that tells me everything is going to be ok.  I'm so glad he puts up with my doubting.  I seriously have no idea where I would be without that constant comfort.  

I actually got to go to Collins on Sunday night for their new staff initiation ceremony.  It's mainly for the new CL's (Community Leaders, aka RA's) but I got to come and be a part of it, very, very cool.  I also got to see my next home.  It was so incredibly exciting and a fairly good size.  Michelle (the current chaplain) was so amazing and let me take pictures for Steven, but I think i'll refrain from posting them on the WWW...i'll post some when we move in, a few months from now.  

The weirdest part of all...I walked into Collins that night and I stopped dead in my tracks.  Collin's has a very distinct scent, and it's one I haven't smelled or even thought about for 4 years.  It's not a bad smell by any means, but it's just very distinct.  I had to stop and take it all in, memories of freshman year were flooding back, and it just made me realize that I will get to be a part of a whole new group of freshman girls' memories this next year.  How cool is that?  Maybe when they come back to Collins long after they are gone b/c of homecoming or they are moving their daughter in, they will stop in the doorway and think of me...ok well maybe not me but the amazing experience they had as a freshman and hopefully how they grew in their faith that year.  ahhh it's just makes me so excited!

Well that pretty much sums it up for now.  

PS i have the most amazing fiance who could not think of anything better than to live in Collins for our first year of marriage.  I mean seriously? who is this guy? It's not going to be easy for him...he will have to "announce" himself every time he comes in the hall, but of course, being the "glass is half full" guy that he always is, he's been brainstorming on fun ways to announce himself...i'm scared to ask... :)

I'm sure we will have many great newlywed stories given our new living situation...i'll keep you updated :)

pps.  collins is stereotyped as the "pretty girls dorm"...i won't argue cause I lived there :)  which just means that my bubs (brother) will probably be visiting a lot more now...with friends...oh goodness....

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord. 18:22

(I think I will write this one out for Steven and place it on his bathroom mirror so It's the first thing he reads every day, haha!)

Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin.  18:24

The fear of the Lord is life indeed; filled with it one rests secure and suffers no harm.  19:23

Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.  20:13 

(It should be a requirement for all grad students to memorize this verse!)

The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.  22:2

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  24:3-4

Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another. 27:19

(I might like this one the best)

The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.   28:5

Many seek the favor of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.  29:26

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  30:5

give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, "who is the Lord?" or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God. 30:8b-9

speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.  Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.  31:9

(A great proof text for social work)

And by far my new favorite verse...

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without good sense.  11:22

My little brother James (aka: Bubs) is so hardcore.  He's having an amazing senior baseball season and I couldn't be more proud...if only I still lived in Austin and could go watch every game.  

Like I said....proud

Face (obviously)

Right Arm - the reddness is actually just a bunch of blisters that wraps all the way around my arm like a sleeve...oh and they burst every time I move my arm

Left arm: where most of the big blisters were. 

Left Hand: Look at all those blisters!  Steven told me they made my engagement ring look ugly...(it's funnier now that they are all gone!) 

I was very comfortable in this role, perhaps too comfortable, and then God called me to the seminary. The conversation went something like this...

God: Katie I'm calling you to the church

Me: Seriously?

God: yes

Me: I'm not sure I'm hearing your right...you want me to go to seminary?

God: yes

Me: but why? I don't feel comfortable confronting someone about faith, if they bring it up then sure I'll start talking, but I can't just bring up faith....why in the world would you want ME to go to seminary?

God: 'cause (yes, sometimes God talks to me in Texas slang...)

Me: CAUSE?  what kind of an answer is CAUSE?  

God: just trust me

Me: awwww, nooooo.  Don't say that.  How can I argue with that???

God: exactly.

Me: grrrrrrrr....ok fine I'll go

Ok perhaps that's a little trivial but basically that's what happened.  Now I've been in this seminary place for about a semester and a half and I'm still as confused as ever as to why God has placed me here.  Some days I think I want to work at St. Jude's Hospital, other days I just want to live in Waco forever (i know...weird), other days I start missing my Mom and just want to move to Austin, live in Westlake, and be an awesome Mom just like her....

It's frustrating really.  I like to be in control, I like to know what I'm doing with my life, and every time I try to plan out my future nothing lines up.  

All that to say, I finally just questioned God.  You know, one of those good "come to Jesus meetings" with....well Jesus.  I asked him what I'm doing here, and to give me a sign, even a small one, just to let me know that I'm doing the right thing (well that's the shortened version of what I said).

After that I decided to go to a meeting at Truett for the Spiritual Life division of Baylor.  I wasn't planning on going, but I've been searching for a campus job for this upcoming fall so I figured I might as well check it out although I had no intention of finding anything that would spark my interest. 

During the meeting they started talking about the Resident Chaplains and something inside me said "here's your sign" (but not in the Bill Engvall voice that I'm sure most of you just used)

After the meeting I once again questioned God in the car...

Me: Resident Chaplaincy?  Resident Chaplaincy?!?!  How in the world am I qualified to do that?

God: well you don't know now do you...

Me: Well...no...but it doesn't sound like something I would be good at

God: Did you ever see yourself going to seminary before I led you there

Me: Well...no...but still.  I'm getting married, I can't live in the same building as a bunch of undergraduates.

God: Just leave that up to me

Me: So is this what I'm going to do?

God: I can't tell you that yet.  But you need to apply, this is a process you need to go through

Me: but why?

God: just trust me

Me: oh no, not again! 

So now I'm applying to be a resident chaplain at Baylor.  Steven has been so supportive (It's amazing how God not only speaks to us directly but through those who we trust). 

I'm completely nervous, feel VERY out of my element; but feel like I have the support I need to try this out.  In the first 12 hours I started coming up with all these different ways I could mentor to a bunch of Freshman girls.  Ideas just kept on popping up in my head and all of a sudden I realized "hey...maybe I could be good at this!"  Then I started freaking out and all those feeling went away...oh well.  baby steps at first. 

I'm excited to see where this goes (and by excited I mean more scared than I've been in a long time), but I have a feeling this next month I'm going to learn a lot about myself spiritually, which will be the breakthrough I think I've been needing for a while now.

....time to start stepping out of that box I've put myself in.  

Social welfare is taught throughout the Christian faith.  The Old and New Testament texts both highly value the ideals of justice and righteousness, and it is on these principles that the community of God is built.   As a Christian, I look to these texts and values as I formulate my own views of social welfare.  My personal experiences also shape my perspective, sometimes in favor of these teachings, and sometimes in opposition to them.    

            Justice is repeatedly taught throughout the Old and New Testaments as an act of helping others to gain their social footing.  When God was first setting up a relationship with his covenant people he taught the value of justice.  In Leviticus we read about the jubilee years.  This was set up so that every fifty years all land was returned to its original owner and all debts were forgotten.  This allowed for everyone to “start over” so that there was no class division among the people.  Deuteronomy chapter twenty-four depicts a similar concept when God tells his people to only take what is needed and to leave the rest for the “alien, the orphan, and the widow” (Deuteronomy 24:19, New Revised Standard Version). 

God blessed those who acted in ways of justice.  The prophet Isaiah touches on this message of reward, “if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10).  Proverbs describes the punishment for not helping others, “If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13). 

Perhaps one of the most obvious passages on the message of justice occurs later in Proverbs when it is stated, “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.  Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).  Here we clearly see that justice is the act of helping those who cannot help themselves, and being the voice for those that would not be heard otherwise.  Second only to idolatry, the prophets accuse the Israelites and Judeans of their blatant neglect of justice, and consider it one of the main reasons that God will send their people into exile.  Through these late Old Testament texts we clearly see that justice was an expectation of the covenant people. 

            This leads to the greatest example of justice that we have as Christians to look at, Jesus.  Because of the New Testament texts we no longer act justly because God will reward us, but because Jesus is our example to follow.  Ephesians teaches us that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10); and in the judgment of Matthew we are taught that the good works we do for others we in turn do for God (Matthew 25:31-46). 

            When examining the idea of righteousness in the Old Testament I think of two phrases, moral correctness and faithfulness.  The righteous are constantly juxtaposed with the wicked throughout these texts, who are defined as sinners and those not of the faith.  In the New Testament though, we clearly see an abandonment of “the law” and from that point, righteousness, for Christians, is based solely on faith.  “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith” (Philippians 3:8b-9).  No longer can someone boast of their own righteousness based on their following of the law, righteousness now comes from God.

            It is my belief that an “ideal” society would be based on these two ideals, justice and righteousness.  Isaiah perhaps says this best, “Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.  The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:16-17).  The mess in our society today is created in large part from a lack of justice and righteousness. 

            Jesus broke down the social norms of his society.  He ministered to the outcasts of his day, the poor, oppressed, women, lepers, children, prostitutes and tax collectors.  He called his followers to join him in his social endeavors.  With Jesus there are no statuses, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  From this perspective it is easy to see how our roles as people of God differ from what society has depicted for us.  In a culture with statuses, each group serves a different function/purpose; but in a culture without statuses, each person is free to help others in whatever way they can.  Jesus calls us to look out for our “brothers and sisters” of faith and provide them with the resources that we have and they are lacking.  Those with money give to those who have none, those who are capable of loving give to those who have never received that from their own family.  In this “ideal” society you do not give because you will receive, you give because you have, and want to share.

(Skipping some stuff)

When I look at our social welfare policy today, I see that it has been altered by the actions of those who we consider the “unworthy.”  Many of the regulations set up such as time limits on assistance, strict requirements, and the way society looks down on those in need have all been put into place because of the “abuse” that has occurred by the few.  Instead of creating programs that can reach a broader scope of those in need, we restrict them so that they will be abused less frequently.  The only problem with this is that in the process we end up limiting opportunities to many who have no intention of abusing the system.  Some would argue that by loosening the restrictions on social welfare, people would abuse the system more.  Perhaps, but if we follow the example of Jesus, who gave to the tax-collector, an abuser of the system of his day, then we should give to all of those in need.  Why should we limit the resources of those who require our help because of the abusive actions of the few?

            Through following the example of Jesus in regard to justice, righteousness, statuses, roles, and resources, those in our society who need help would find it, and those who would abuse the system might not feel the need to do so.  Take the example of the tax collector; after being shown compassion from Jesus, he turned from his ways and gave back all he had taken and more.  From these practices we would gain peace, and as a result our culture would have quietness and trust forever (paraphrased from Isaiah 32:17-16).