Mood Ring

Relient K would say I am definitely in need of a mood ring. It has been a day full of shifting emotions.

I was stressed and anxious about the workload for the next few days.
I was excessively bored in Christian Heritage relearning material from last semester.
I was thoroughly interested in the readings for Mythology.
I felt inadequate in my understanding of Boethius.
I was energized by Zumba.
I felt blessed by the great friendships in my life and grateful for the people I have grown even closer to recently.
I was absolutely ecstatic about translating verses from my brand-new Greek New Testament :)

But even more than the above listed, several thoughts stuck with me the whole day.
On the way to class this morning, I had a "why in the world am I a Classics major?" moment followed quickly by a "what the heck am I doing with my life?" moment. I started thinking through careers I could possibly have, and I felt either completely apathetic or completely inadequate in regards to every single one. I don't want to get stuck doing something that seems appealing but is ultimately unfulfilling. I want to make sure I'm doing something that will have a lasting impact in people's lives. I don't want to get jaded or become too focused on material gain or worldly renown (thanks for the reminder Boethius). So it's definitely been a day of reevaluating my passions, burdens, talents and calling. I have yet to come anywhere close to a conclusion, and I know I'm only a freshman so I have time to figure it out, but I worry about it nonetheless.

The other thing that remained with me all day was Haiti. My heart bleeds for the people affected, and I wish that in addition to money I could give of myself. Today was one of those days that I wished I had some sort of interest in medicine. Doctors and nurses have the opportunity to help people so much and in such a tangible way. They are the ones down in Haiti right now giving all their energy to heal those who are suffering. I feel so small and unimportant in comparison to this. What gift do I have that could possibly bless people? I wish I could travel down there, but I know I have absolutely nothing to offer.

For now I will just have to learn to pray faithfully.

P.S. PLEASE check out this blog by missionaries in Haiti. It is full of heart-wrenching stories, and shows such hope amid the devastation.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

This hymn has been on repeat in my mind the past few days. Unfortunately I had a hard time finding any non-cheesy versions on youtube to share with you. Phil Wickham has a nice rendition on his album "Singalong"

I think the simple repetition and sincerity of this is what gets me every time. There is no desire of "turning back" to the emptiness of worldly things once you've experienced the fullness of life in Christ. Seriously.

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back

Facebookers Anonymous

Hello. My name is Sydney Drain and I am a Facebook addict.

Step 1 is admitting your problem, right? Well here is my problem: I am completely obsessed with Facebook. It's been easy to justify my addiction by saying that it's such a great tool for staying in touch with people, but in reality that's just another excuse. I have allowed Facebook to hinder me from becoming a better person. It has made me into a busybody, constantly checking up on everyone's status updates and pictures from the latest adventure. It has allowed me to pretend I'm maintaing friendships as long as I post on someone's wall every once in awhile. I've become extremely judgmental (more so than I was to begin with) just by checking out people's pictures and comments.

Worst of all, it has fed my selfish attitude of seeking attention and approval from humanity. I try to think of witty status updates so that I can get a lot of notifications and post tons of silly, pointless pictures so that I will show up on others' newsfeeds. Paul writes in Galatians 1:10, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." I need to spend more time focusing on seeking God's approval, for that is the only thing that will ever truly satisfy me. A compliment can brighten my day and keep me going for a bit, but that will eventually fade. In the end, the only sustaining thing in my life is the knowledge that my Father in heaven loves me deeply and thinks I'm worth saving. Psalm 139:18 says that God's thoughts about me are more numerous than the grains of sand. Can you even imagine that?!

But I have lost sight of that and I know I need to refocus. Therefore, I am saying goodbye to Facebook for the next few months. It is my deepest hope that I will now be challenged to fill my free time in God's presence rather than creeping on profiles. Through that time I pray the Holy Spirit will work in my heart and help me to become a more thoughtful, generous, patient person and will continue to transform me into the likeness of God. Additionally, I am going to work on being a better friend and asking the tough questions rather than settling for shallow conversation. Also, I am hoping that all this time away from the computer will challenge me to plug into some organizations and service groups so that I can give back to my community. And finally, I would like to learn how to stop procrastinating and start getting more done with my life. I waste way too much time every day.

So... there is my reasoning. I'm not expecting anyone else to follow in my footsteps, this is just a personal decision that I feel needs to happen.

I'm excited about what God has in store for this semester, and I'm looking forward to sharing that journey with you.

Haiti

Just a quick note today.

Most of you know about the terrible earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday. Thousands are thought to be dead and there will be millions of dollars in damage. Haiti is already one of the poorest nations in the world, and it needs your help today.

Here are some pictures of the devastation.

This is such a great opportunity to give financially if the Lord has placed that on your heart. Pass up on buying those new CD's or go without Starbucks for a few weeks and donate to relief funds.

World Vision is an incredible organization involved in relief work, and I know any donations will be put to good use. Click here to donate.

Unsettled

My heart has been uneasy lately.

I first noticed it in the midst of a conversation where several people were complaining about not having as much luxury as they would like. Now in all fairness, I know that most of the conversation was in jest and in reality they are all extremely generous people and would say they have plenty of blessings in their lives.

But it really hit something in me and I can't get my heart to rest.

As I sit here at my private university typing away on my Mac listening to my nice ipod full of thousands of songs, I have to wonder, how often do I completely disregard the fact that I am one of the richest people in the world?

I complain so often about how much work I have to do and how hard this college thing is. Where is the gratitude for the enormous opportunity I've been given to receive an education of any sort?

There are people all over the world who live on less than a dollar a day. There are children who have no choice of going to school because they have to help feed their families. People die daily of malnutrition and lack of clean water. And I have just ignored all of that lately.

I'm not trying to make this a guilt trip, and I'm not telling you to sell everything you own and give it to the poor (although Jesus may tell you to do that anyways, he's done it many times before.. c.f. Matt. 19:21, also "The Life of St. Anthony" is great to read). I am, however, asking that we all take a step back and consider the rich blessings we have. And after you've considered them, give those blessings back to God and ask that he would work an appropriate response in your heart, whether that's donating money to a worthy cause, getting involved in an organization and giving of yourself and your time, or even praying for a particular group of people. Who knows what God will ask.

How wonderful it is that we have a God who does not look at outward appearances, but who considers the heart of man and who cares so deeply about each one of his children!


If you're looking for some good organizations:
- Water is Basic
- LeaderTreks
- World Vision
- Advent Conspiracy
- Compassion International
- Habitat for Humanity

Plus a ton of other awesome organizations that I'm not aware of. If you have any good organizations I would love to hear about them!

Misconceptions

Much credit for this post must be given to the wonderful Claire Ackerman who shared this video with me: "White Man"

I have absolutely fallen in love with this video and the message it promotes (plus it's just so much fun to watch!).

How often do we attempt to describe God in our own terms? How many divisions in our churches occurred because arguments over these descriptions? How often do we accuse others of being godless because of their political beliefs or personal histories? How much hurt have we caused because of this?

I'm not going to go on a rant about how much damage I think certain groups and sects have caused, because that would just be adding fuel to the fire. I'm as much a part of the problem as everyone else. I stereotype. I'm judgmental. I'm intolerant. I have trouble loving my enemies.

But God is bigger than all of that. He's bigger than my opinions and my mistakes and I'm going to trust him to reveal his true character and will to me. Will you trust him to do the same for you?

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

The great William Shakespeare penned these words centuries ago, yet he brings up an interesting question: What is it that's so important about a name? Each of us has one. Many of us girls dream up the perfect first-middle name combinations for our yet-to-be-born children. I think names are so important to us because we have the desire to be different, to really show our uniqueness. It reminds us that we're not just another person living life. We're individuals with our own personalities, histories, dramas and passions.

So we've established that names are important, and that's part of the reason that I've taken so long to even start a blog. I've struggled over what to call it because I didn't even know what the blog would really be about. But it's finally come to me... I want this to be an intellectually and spiritually stimulating blog. I don't boast any claims to deep insight, but I know that others have impacted me with their musings and advice, so I'm hoping that what little knowledge I have will be helpful to someone.

"In the Dust of My Rabbi" epitomizes what I'm trying to do with my life. The name comes from an ancient Jewish proverb that states "Follow the rabbi, drink in his words, and be covered with the dust of his feet." This proverb originated from the fact that many disciples would follow their rabbi (teacher) so closely that they would literally be covered in the dust he brushed up as he walked, and it was considered a huge honor to be able to get this close to the rabbi. This is how I desire to be with my Rabbi, Jesus Christ. I want to be right behind him and be absolutely coated in his dust.

In order to do this I know I need to learn how to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). I have made some resolutions (thank you 2010) and I'm going to use this blog to keep me accountable. I want to spend consistent time in the Word and I'm planning on using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer) and sharing any cool observation I get with you guys. I want to be in prayer daily and if you have any prayer requests please send them my way. I want to get solid doctrinal roots, so as I learn some really interesting things at Baylor I would love to share my thoughts with you. It is my opinion that learning and growing in faith happens best in a community, so I hope you can learn some from me and I'm sure I will be learning from you as well. And together, I think we can all come to a point of being covered in the dust of our Rabbi.