Brother Lawrence

One of the things that has really helped me in my devotional life is not always using a devotional book. I think that they can be very good tools but, I just don't work well with them. Most of my time with God is while I'm walking around campus and things of that sort, just thinking about God throughout my day. Thinking of what he would want me to do in certain situations, whether I'm in that situation or not. I try not to make my "devotional time" an actual set time. I try to make it like a lifestyle. Spending valuable time with God everyday is very vital, but try to make every moment you have a time with God, even if it's not super spiritual, recognize him in everything.

John Calvin

I think that quite a bit of what our culture is trying to tell us ties back to the way we look. On TV, in magazines, on the radio, in music; aesthetics are very, very important. Most people identify themselves in the way that they look or how people look at them. I like to think that appearance doesn't have a huge impact, but it truly does. Impressions mean everything and unless you talk to and get to know everyone you've ever had contact with, what has been drawn from your appearance is what people think about you. The media tells everybody that they have to be a certain body type and if they aren't then they are not beautiful. There has even been a study that claims that people who are "attractive" are more successful than people who aren't very "attractive." It's terrible that it has such an impact, but it really does affect many aspects of life. The world tries to make us think the same way. It seems as though we've been brain washed by a life of being sold lies. And the truth is, we eat it up. I have personally conformed to the way of this world in this. Not really towards others, but mainly towards myself. I am so critical on myself and on the days I feel ugly, it's bad news. The passage in Philippians really pounds on humility. It's so important for me to understand that the most important thing to do is to love God and to love people. To some extent it matters how people view me, but first and foremost I should be concerned about how God sees me. I should be pleasing him and not other humans. It's more important for me to consider others as better than myself and serve them than it is to boast in my self image and have a hope that they will serve me. Ultimately that's what it boils down to; loving God or wanting others to love you.

Annie Dillard

A few weeks ago I noticed a tree close to the quad for the first time ever. It's not a very big tree, but it's big enough that it would have been near impossible to move it from a different location to the one that it is now in. I searched through my memories trying to recall seeing that tree before. But I couldn't. The tree is kind of grey and at the time of it's appearance it was growing new leaves, which was very odd since all of the other trees were starting to change colors due to the changing season. I imagine that this tree was brighter than ever before since it had just caught my attention. Over the past few weeks I've been observing this tree in order to get to know it. It was new and somewhat exciting to me. A few days after I noticed it for the first time, the new leaves started turning yellow. And a few days after that it was very windy outside, and I noticed that the half of the tree that was facing the wind was mostly bare while the other half still had it's leaves. Now, almost all of the leaves are gone, but it is still just as beautiful, maybe even more than it was on the first day I saw it.
God has been revealing to me how my relationship to that tree is similar to the relationship I have with him. I don't worship the tree or anything crazy like that. But, when Jesus first appeared to my life, it was the brightest, most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Through the time I have spent with him, things have been bare and ragged, but all the while it has been beautiful. And no matter what season I go through with him, although there will be change, I will still always be in awe of him and what he is doing in my life.

Francis of Assisi and Watchman Nee

I think that there are different approaches to "sharing the gospel." Of course there is the obvious going out and blatantly telling people about Jesus and so on, but I much prefer presenting the gospel through your actions and everyday relationships with people. I think in evangelism, relationship is very important. Watchman Nee talked about how people need to know Jesus before they know of what he did for them. I've never really thought of the gospel in that way, but it matches how I like to present the gospel. From that perspective, I shared the gospel a few times over thanksgiving break to my mom. She is disabled and it's hard for her to do some things on her own but she doesn't get much help from people. Over thanksgiving break I did several tasks for my mom and I believe that her being able to see me love and help her, said a lot about Jesus and my relationship with him. Sometimes it's hard to engage in evangelism because it's hard to know where to start. Francis of Assisi was inspiring when he wrote about asking others for prayer to get an answer for a question that he had. I think it's important for Christians to communicate with one another and talk about relationships we are trying to build up and pray for each other and for the growth of relationship. It was also neat how he responded so quickly when he got the answer. Not only did he respond, but he got others to come and help him. I think that we should also work on getting other Christians involved in our relationships. So, talking with other Christians about opportunities I have to evangelize and receiving prayer and support from them would really help me be more active in evangelism.

Jeremy Taylor #2

The easiest rule for me is number eighteen; "Do not expose others' weaknesses in order to make them feel less able than you." This has been done to me countless times so I know how it feels to be underestimated and told that you can't do something because of your faults, background, etc. None of us are perfect and all of us are broken. We shouldn't cause more damage to others to make us feel better.

The hardest rule for me is number fourteen; "Be content when you see or hear that others are doing well in their jobs and with their income, even when you are not." This is extremely difficult for me because I get to where I feel as though I deserve a break after working hard for so long. Not just when it comes to money, but when it comes to opportunities or grades and other things. I work hard for my grades and opportunities and it's hard to accept that some people are just better than you are at some things, no matter how hard you work. We were all gifted in a unique way. It could also be because I can get competitive, but mainly because I feel as though I deserve certain things after putting in a certain amount of time working for it.

Jeremy Taylor #1

I got my first job when I was 15. There were times in high school when I was working 2 jobs at a time. In a way, I was embarrassed by having to work to help support myself. Everybody else around me was well taken care of and most of them had never even had a job before. I just wished that my parents were stable enough to take complete care of me without having a worry in the world. But that just wasn't reality. Now, I am encouraged by the complications I had to go through because I know that I am a hard worker and that I worked for everything that I have. Nothing was handed to me so now I know that that isn't how life works. You have to be able to juggle priorities and know what things are most important. Because of my background, I have plenty of experience in the working world.

E. Stanley Jones

Jones understands conversion as "You cannot attain salvation through disciplines, It is the gift of God. But you cannot retain it without disciplines." He believes that the three basic habitual disciplines are reading the Word of God, praying, and passing on what you've learned. Jesus was the example for all three of these disciplines. This is a different concept of conversion than what we're used to because so many times conversion is focused only on the moment in which you "asked Christ to live in your heart." This is an important moment, but you also need to be changed in the way you live after accepting Christ. Disciplines are necessary fruits of salvation. I think that this is a more biblical understanding of conversion because Jesus desires for us to get to know him personally. He wants to walk beside us in life and share what he has done for us with other people in order to expand the kingdom of God. Conversion isn't meant to be an excuse to be able to live however you want without giving any time to Christ. It's a commitment to God.