On the Fourth of July we discussed the different books that we had read for the first half of the summer. The book that I read, along with the rest of the second years, was Beyond Racial Gridlock by George Yancey. It was a really good book. I don't want to share all of it because there is a lot that Yancey discussed, plus you should probably just go read it yourself. The main point of the book was looking at how our secular theories of trying to solve racism will never work, because they do not contain Jesus. Yancey's model was called mutual responsibility, and it reveals that both European Americans and African Americans have sinned against one another, whether it be individualistically or corporately. He then talked about corporate repentance and forgiveness. Yancey also looked at the way that Jesus addressed racial difference. It is a great book and I would really suggest!
After our book discussion we had lunch all together at the Faust house and then spent the afternoon at the World War I museum here in Kansas City. It was a really great place to spend Independence Day, reminding us that our freedom here in America does not come without a cost, nor does our spiritual freedom. It was also great because there is not usually a lot of focus on WWI, so it was good to be reminded of the whole story behind the war. Museums are just cool in general because they bring about a reality to the things I learned in history class.
In the evening we went to this giant Fourth of July get together here in Kansas City. It was a lot of fun, being surrounded by thousands of people celebrating our independence. We did some grilling, played a few games, and just had some really good, genuine, conversations. And then of course we watched an awesome fireworks show. It was a great day!!
God spoke to me so much last week. One of the main ways God spoke was through one of my kids at KCUYC. One of the little boys that I work with, might be autistic. He hasn't been tested, but his older brother is and he shows some serious signs. He spends most of his day in his own little world and it is really hard for any of the teachers to get, and keep his attention. On Monday during our teaching Ryan brought up how I had fallen in love with my kids last summer and God spoke to me using them. As I heard this I just internally asked God to reveal to me different ways He is using these kids to speak to me this summer. Immediately I felt like God say that I was this little boy.
At first I was thrown off by this, but then God explained to me. Just like this little boy I spend most of my time in my own little world, not even aware of His existence. I'm not aware that He is desiring to speak to me, calling my attention back to Him hundreds of times a day. He is continually saying "Tate. Tate! Tate, I need your eyes to be on me."
This struck me so hard that I was blown away. It was so true. This did not only make me more aware of how God is desiring to speak to me during the day, but it also helped my relationship with this little boy. The next day I had a lot more patience in working with him. I spoke more tenderly and changed my whole heart posture as I interacted with him. I saw myself as an ambassador of the LORD and realized that He desired me to treat this little boy the way that He treats me, with a deep love.
Another area where God really spoke to me last week was through art. Early on in the week God was revealing to me how He enjoys the things that I enjoy and one of those areas are the Arts. Sometimes it is really hard to accept this is something I enjoy and desire, because in the world this is seen as feminine. God wants to change that for me. He helped reveal to me that Arts are masculine because it is a way that God penetrates the hardest of hearts.
As I sat with this later on in the week I felt like God inviting me into spending part of my prayer on Thursday partnering with Him in creating. I was a little reluctant, but did it anyway. As I was drawing I became upset realizing that what I was doing, wasn't that great. I really struggled with this. God wants to use art to penetrate through the hearts of people, but how can He do that if what I am creating isn't that great and probably won't ever be displayed?
As I sat with God thinking about this I became more and more frustrated. How then, is the art that I am creating masculine? Very quickly I felt God answer. I heard that art takes a lot of time and effort to reach the final product. It includes perseverance and pressing in, which is part of the true masculine. After I heard that I was then able to press in and finish the project that I was working on, enjoying co-creating with the Creator.
Prayer Requests
- That I would continually be being made more aware of the ways God is trying to speak to me.
- That I would continue learning how to embrace the things that I enjoy and the things that God might be inviting me into, even when it seems risky.
- That we as interns would continue growing closer together as a community.
- We have another movie night this Friday, so that we would have lots of people and have good interaction with those who show up.
- We have our five mile challenge this week, I'm sure I will need prayer for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment