Bragging on "Bubs"...again
Because I never miss an opportunity to brag on my brother...he was on the news...and he is awesome...and I love him :)
two's company, 580 is a crowd?
Yes it's true, Steven and I will be spending our first year of wedded bliss in the company of 580 freshman girls in Collins Dormitory...aka my "home sweet home" from freshman year...and my mom's...and my aunt's for 1 semester. Gosh I love Baylor :)
The Proverbs
This Tuesday we are studying Proverbs in my Scriptures II class. So in preparation I just read all 31 chapters. What's even more amazing is that I only took short break for dinner in the middle. I loved reading this book! I actually can't believe I had never read through it before.
The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge 1:7a
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 4:18
Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. 4:26
Keep my commandments and live, keep my teachings as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart 7:2-3
some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want. 11:24
Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up. The righteous gives good advice to friends, but the way of the wicked leads astray 12:25-26
In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death. 12:28
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 13:12
In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. 14:23
Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding 14:33a
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good 15:3
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
Bragging on "Bubs"
Note: Yes he does stick his tongue out for every pitch, and yes I DO hope it's on the cover of Sport's Illustrated one day...I secretly want to be known as "the sister of the lefty pitcher with the ridiculous face"
Extended Break
Steven and I went home to Austin for a few wedding errands the last weekend of spring break and day 5 of my poison ivy attack and I just about lost it. I was stressed, tired, in tremendous pain, couldn't bend my arm from how swollen it was, and not to mention just felt plain ugly from the rash all over my body and face. It was really difficult to go back to Waco on Sunday but I just bit my lip while Steven drove us back up I-35. I woke up early on Monday to get the work done for school that I meant to do with my week long vacation and realized that my poison ivy had spread...again. I called the nurse to see if this was normal (i had already had 1 steroid shot, had lathered myself in hydro-cortizone for a week now and was sooooo good about not scratching). The nurse told me I should come back in so the doctor could check on me so I got dressed and headed off to the clinic. I checked in, sat in the corner of the waiting room feeling like a leaper, certain that everyone was saying "un-clean, un-clean!" under their breath and was definitely aware of the number of stares I was getting from the whole room. I then felt a tingling in my right hand and looked down and noticed it had swollen up to twice its size...in 5 minutes! I breathed a sigh of relief that I was already at the doctor's office and continued to wait, all the while trying to hide the blisters all up and down my arms that were continually popping and at this point smelly (I know that's gross to read but imagine living with it for over a week!)
The nurse called me back and looked like she was in pain when she saw me, the doctor saw me in the hall while he was going to see another patient and walked over to me to express how sorry he was for me, the whole time I'm thinking "this is not helping!!!! I know I look ridiculous!!! Just fix it!!!" I go into the exam room, the nurse can't even take my blood pressure because there is not a free spot on either of my wrists to wrap that silly contraption around. When the doctor finally came in he told me he had never seen a reaction as bad as mine (i actually felt kind of proud about this, if I'm going to have this disgusting rash that is blistering and oozing all over me it might as well be the worst he's ever seen!) and he gave me a second steroid shot, steroid pills, steroid cream and an antibiotic to fight off any infections that might come my way. And then he told me if it didn't clear up in 3 days I would have to be hospitalized (talk about a lot of pressure on my body!!!) He wrote me a doctors note to get out of class and work for the rest of the week and said the earliest I could go anywhere would be Thursday and I should remain a hermit until then.
So I called mom, told her the news and she begged me to come home. I told her I would think about it, but I wasn't convinced until I was in the drive through at Walgreens to drop of my prescription and the pharmacist gasped as my blistery hand and asked "What happened to you!?!?!" Needless to say when mom called to check on me 30 minutes later I was more than relieved to hear that she had already sent Lizzie driving up I-35 to come take me home.
Apparently 2.5 days at home was all the medicine I needed. I got more refreshed these past few days than I have all semester just from being home and being taken care of. It was amazing and I even got to see my brother pitch last night because of how much better I had gotten.
So I'm back in Waco, I have my to-do list, and I'm pretty sure I will get more done this semester all because of my silly poison-ivy attack. (which by the way I got taking engagement photos, and I'm sure all this pain means they will only be that much more amazing).
So I will leave you with a few pictures of my rash, even though they don't do it justice because (1) with only one working arm I couldn't maneuver the camera to every angle to show the extent it was covering my body (2) It's really hard to see the blisters without my not-so-top-of-the-line camera (3) you can't smell the puss which is really the grossest part :)
...but I think you will get the idea.
(ps I promise to post the much more enjoyable, and what I can only guess will be the most beautiful engagement pictures EVER, as soon as I get them. Until then this will have to suffice!)
Stepping out of my box
So I've always been pretty private about my faith. It's not that I was ever ashamed of it, but I always felt that my way of ministering was best done by my actions. Basically my ministry catch-phrase was "Actions speak louder than words."
Justice, Righteousness, the Ideal Society: Social Justice
For our second paper this semester in my policy class we told to incorporate our personal faith into our own view on social justice and the ideal society especially in relation to the terms justice and righteousness. I've decided to post most of my paper below. Although not "scholarly-journal article" worthy, I think it depicts very clearly exactly how my dual degree of Ministry and Social Work truly fit hand in hand. I'm excited to study more about this over the next three years and really build my beliefs behind it.
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).
