Happy New Year 2008! Thoughts

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!!!  May it be blessed for each of you.

 

I began my New Year this morning by reading the next chapters from my ongoing informal self-study of Isaiah and Deuteronomy.  I decided I want to become more familiar with the Old Testament, since it does still occupy 2/3 of all the pages in the Bible.  The verses that struck me today are in Isaiah, Chapter 28:

 ^16-17 This, now, is what the sovereign Lord says: “I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong.  In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which is written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’  Justice will be a measuring line for the foundation, and honesty will be its plumb line.” ^24-25a No farmer goes on constantly plowing his fields and getting them ready for planting.  Once he has prepared the soil, he plants the seeds. 

Here is why I am meditating on this puzzle.  As I stated in my intro, I am preparing to go to law school to work in International Human Rights.  I’m also very scared about this, scared of failure, scared of going back to school at my age, etc.  I was preparing to apply for Fall of 2008, until my LSAT (Law School Admission Score) came back about ten days ago.  I had prepared rigorously for ten weeks but must have freaked out on test day, because I came back with a 155 which is about 8-10 points below my average practice test score.  I decided to put off school for a year so I could re-test and do better.  A higher score (in my previous, consistent average range) would put me in far better running for admissions and scholarships.

 

Is that an example of faith being patient, or of a farmer that plows and plows but never plants?  Or is the farmer in the second passage actually referring to God, not humans?  As I begin a new year of plowing I must consider this carefully.  I have felt a need to prepare better spiritually before entering law school, so I can be strong to focus on what God would have me do vs. the temptations to go where the money is as many law graduates do.  But am I really onto something or am I simply procrastinating?

 

It’s really kind of moot at this point, because it’s too late to apply for Fall 2008 now (I was cutting it close), but I’d like to get this straight in my heart. 

 

Either way, there is important work to be done in 2008.

Introduction

Welcome to Journeying into the Unknown! As stated in the “What’s this Blog About” page, I’m Kris and I am a Christian. No, this blog isn’t going to preach about anything. I am just a Christian on a journey of discovering my purpose in Christ and struggling to achieve that and to walk closer with God. Here I’ll talk about struggles and spiritual journeys I am going through, as I suspect many others are also going through things like that too. All topics presented are open for discussion and a free exchange of ideas.

I am not one of those Christians who does not talk to people of other faiths. I have friends of many different religions and of no religion at all, and I love the diversity. Anyone is welcome to comment here.

Some topics that will be covered are faith and call to discipleship. I’ve recently been called to go into mission work, specifically with an organization such as International Justice Mission, that rescues people from human trafficking, forced slavery and the sex trade. So, at the age of 36 preparing to leave my comfy life and apply to law school. I am scared to death and woefully ill-equipped as far as being as advanced on my faith journey compared to so many others, so I’m not sure why this call has taken over my consciousness and my life. But it has, and here I am, for better or for worse. And I’m going, wherever He may take me.

I am also in the midst of a spiritual journey of learning about my relationship with money and posessions, and modifying that to be congruent with my walk with God and different from American consumerist culture wherever necessary. My next couple of posts will be about that. These and other topics such as current events and more are appropriate here.

Again, I am not exemplary or trying to preach or present myself as any sort of expert. I’m just searching and trying to grow in consciousness and intentional Christian living as described in the Bible and lived by the early church, despite many of the things that have been perpetrated in the name of God in the thousands of years of church history. I am always journeying back to the source, back to the Good: always to remember to love people first (no matter how many times I might fail). I hope that this will be a place to explore such issues.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed via the link on the sidebar. God Bless You!