Friends! I realize that I haven't finished the blogs on hypocrisy yet, and I will soon. This week has been super busy with midterms and things going on around here that I just haven't had that much time to sit down and write. I'm at home sick today, so I might pound one or two out throughout the day; we'll see. Even though I haven't finished them though, I wanted to take a few minutes here to update everyone on my life.
In the fall of 2011 I was first introduced to Eternity Bible College by my youth pastor, Mike Baker. No, let me back up farther than that. In 2009-2010, the Sr. High guys youth group at my church that I was a part of decided to go through the book, "Crazy Love", by Francis Chan. God used that book as a catalyst in my life and ever since that point I've been placed in the eye of a hurricane surrounded by torrential outpourings of His love and grace and experiencing Him in ways I never thought were possible. I point to that book as the start of me realizing the plans that God has for my life and his strong tugging on my heart for ministry and to do something crazy and exciting for Him. If you know me pretty well and what's been going on in my life the past two years since that point, you know that I tried running away, tried to do my own thing and tried to make my own path for my life. That's where I am now. Reaping the benefits of my so-called, "Smart moves" and gritting my teeth as I bear the last half of the second semester of my freshman year at Bloomsburg University. Now that I can see the plans that God has for me more clearly, I wish I would have listened to Him in the first place when he called me the first time.
With that being said, I enter the next chapter of my life. Let me pick up where I left off. In the fall of 2011 I was first introduced to Eternity Bible College by my youth pastor, Mike Baker. For those unenlightened, Eternity Bible College is the child of Francis Chan, author of "Crazy Love". Francis was the senior pastor at Cornerstone Church out in Simi Valley, California, and with the help of the church, Francis made his dream of bringing Christian education and ministry home to the hearts of hungry college students became a reality. Thus, EBC was born. Eternity is a small college--roughly 300-500 students including those involved in distance learning. Eternity is a college centered solely on Scripture. They have two programs, an associates in Biblical Studies and a Bachelor's in Biblical Studies. Obviously, the associates degree is a two year program, and the bachelors degree is a four year program. The thing that's neat about EBC is that most of their funding for tuition comes from generous donators who want to see the fire of God in the hearts of young Christians today; ready to take on the world. The average cost per year at EBC is $3,500.
When Mike initially planted the seed of EBC in my head, I was still in the stage of, "No, I kinda want to do my own thing." Besides, I'd be moving out there all alone to a place that I've never been before, which scared me. While it was definitely something to pray about, it was not on my list of top colleges. In fact, Liberty University, John Brown University, Messiah College, and even staying at Bloomsburg were among my greatest ideas. Nevertheless, I began to pray for a path to opened up and for the future to unfold in a way that would follow God's Will for my life.
Over the New Year, I went to Passion 2012 with my church. Passion is a youth conference in Atlanta, Georgia, that is hosted by Passion City Church (founded by Louie Giglio) and has become one of the strongest voices of salvation in Generation X. Among others, Francis Chan is also a part of this. It was while I was at Passion that I heard Sam Jablonski, one of my best friends who I've known for pretty much forever, was planning on applying for EBC in the late winter/early spring for the 2012 fall semester. At that point, EBC had fallen on the back burner in my mind, but hearing Sam talk about it like it was actually going to happen, like it was real, really hit the message home for me. Within days, I felt like God was speaking into my life, "Why don't you trust me? You said you wanted to do great and crazy things for me, but you have to learn to trust me and let go." Let go? Let go of what? Myself.
After I got back from Passion, I began researching schools of ministry. Why pay huge money to go to a liberal arts college for ministry when I could pay a lot less and go to a school of ministry and get an education that is strictly ministry? Elim Bible Institute, Eternity Bible College, and Anchor School of Ministry were the three that I checked out. Out of those three, Eternity Bible stood out the most. So after praying about it, checking it out, and seeking advice, I did the unthinkable. I applied.
Fast forward a month and a half to yesterday. Yesterday was the last day before spring break, and I couldn't have been more excited to start my spring break. I had plans already for that evening. After my last class, I would go to the rec. to hit around a racquetball for a little bit, then go to this old barn that I pass everyday on my commute to school to take some pictures, then finally head to the theater to meet up with a friend to catch the movie Act of Valor. I was stoked! God had different plans, though. After eating lunch, I got this weird pain in my stomach, like a cramp. It would come in waves, and sometimes I'd feel fine but then the next minute be wracked with an intense stomach pain. I didn't know what was going on and as I sat in class I began to wonder if it was something I ate. Between my last two classes I sat in the bathroom for a good while hoping that pooping would relieve some pressure. It didn't. I went back to class for 20 minutes before running out of class and barely making it to the stall in time to throw up. After things calmed down, I went back to class for the remaining couple minutes, then left to go home. I tried to eat something on the way home, but I didn't feel hungry even though I had lost my lunch. As soon as I got home, I walked in the door dropped everything on the floor and just fell on the couch and drifted off to sleep. It was at 4:30, an hour later, that my next round of vomiting came. What was going? I had barely made it back downstairs from the bathroom and was sitting on the couch cleaning myself up when the phone rang. I let it go straight to the answering machine, but as soon as I heard who it was I wished I hadn't. It was the Admissions Office from EBC.
I called them back right away and learned that my application had been processed and I had been accepted for the fall 2012 semester at EBC! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Needless to say, amidst all the vomit and stomach pain I couldn't have been happier and I felt myself being overwhelmed in worship by a crazy and relentless God. A God who works everything out to good. While I have been piddling my time away at Bloomsburg pretending to have control of my life, he has been whittling my future out of stone and has presented to me the first piece of the sculpture. I'm not sure yet whether I'm moving in the beginning, middle, or end of summer, but within the next five or six months I will move out to Simi Valley, California, to start the next phase of my life.
Let me just say right now that I am ridiculously excited. In fact, images and thoughts were dancing in my mind up until 12:30 last night as I laid in bed. The very thought of what God has planned for me is overwhelming, and I almost literally cannot wait until those plans become reality and Sam and (for he got accepted too, ptl!) I move out to California and dedicate the next four years of our lives in studying and utilizing the Bible, the very words of God. I will be pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies, and it is a requirement of the school that I become affiliated with a church and dedicate so many hours a week in church service and work.
Am I scared? Mmm...a little. I've lived in Milton, Pennsylvania, my entire life and moving somewhere else (let alone to Simi Valley, which is 45 minutes west of Los Angeles) is different, and I can't help but be a little nervous about the huge change. But I'm excited. More excited than I can express right now. More excited than anything else, and I can't wait until all this becomes a reality.
So with that said, I'll keep this blog updated with information on my journey out there, and once I get out there I'll keep updating it with what is going on in my life. If you want to be a part of my life, even when I'm on the other side of the country, this is the place to be. I'll try to link these blog posts to Twitter and Facebook as well so that people of those networks can also be informed in what God is doing in my life.
"'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,' he used to say. 'You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'"--"Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", by J.R.R. Tolkien
--DyingAnOriginal
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment