A Few Christmas Photos

this is me and my sis

                                                  Kevin thought this new hat/neck warmer was cool
                                             Madelynn had her eye on these bottoms for months!

Madelynn and I on New Year's

The College Analogy

My journey and walk with Christ can be looked at the same way I would look at a class that a Professor is teaching at College.
How does taking a class at College work?
-You have a Teacher
-You have a major
-You have to learn/study
-You have to take what you learn/study and USE it in life
-You have to gain new skills/polish up what you know/change with the times/generations

In class we can listen and pay close attention, and study and be hungry for more everyday, and be eager to learn--which in the long run we'll be great Doctors, or whatever major we are studying. OR we can slack off, not really pay attention, or study--or really immerse ourselves, and become terrible in our field. We won't really be able to be all that our Professor's were trying to help us become. Even if we didn't get the greatest grades, that would be OK--we are human, we aren't perfect. But we could still be learning and evolving along the way if with stick with it, everyday, and are ready to keep learning and studying--so we are prepared for live that major out in our lives.

I think this is a really good analogy for our walks in this Christian life. The same will happen or not happen depending on how good of students we are in God's Word. What is Jesus, our Teacher trying to teach us? What is our "Major?" Are we focusing on what He is teaching us through the Bible? Are we immersing ourselves in the Word by reading it everyday, like going to class? Are we then mediating on it, or studying it, through prayer and contemplation? If we are, we would be prepared to live out in the world, and live how He has taught us to. We will be equipped in dealing with others, and dealing with relationships, ministry, all the things that the New Testament has to say. Just like in class at college, if we keep at it everyday, eager to learn, and we study and practice, we will be able to live it out. Not perfectly, but like Paul says "Know why you have the hope that you have, and be prepared to answer".
If we don't do these things in College or in our walks with Jesus, then what will happen? The subject will grow further away from us, because we won't give it the time it needs from us. We won't really learn much if we slack off in class, or don't take the time to study for a "test". We will separate ourselves from our Teacher, because the Teacher is going to let us choose what we are "into" and what we want to learn etc. . . If we aren't putting our all into the class, the Teacher isn't going to force us, so we will be more and more isolated.

EVEN after getting your College degree you must continue your education to be relevant in your job. I mean think if a Doctor got his degree but never learned anything new. Or a teacher or even a hairdresser! I know Hairdresser's that admit they can't do "up do's" because of how they change through the years, they change with the times, and they have to train and prepare for the current year. Generations change, and there are different crowds, different ways of doing things. So as Christ Followers, we have to stay relevant to our culture, and the people in it. Take my daughter's generation for instance; I have to be adaptable to teach her and her friends. So I have to polish up on what I know and how I can make that real for her if I am going to share Christ with her in any way, whether it's through teaching, serving, or whatever.

An Accountant must learn the new tax laws, lawyers, dentists. Like when you get your degree, "New Life In Christ" , the learning can't stop there... if we don't continue our education/growth/seeking.. we will not be relevant to our career.. major etc..

What kind of student are you going to be? Will you be a Scholar? Or a slacker? What will you do with what you learn? Will what you learn and submerse yourself into stand up to getting you out into the "real" world? Your Teacher is patient, and loving, and wants you to immerse yourself---it's hard work, it takes time, it takes discipline; sometimes it's discouraging, sometimes there are difficulties involved, it's not always easy.
But the life you will be able to live out will far out way what it takes to "get there." What we study and practice will come to full bloom if we stick with it.

Written by Gina L. Norman
Credits to Amy Kehn