when you least expect it

last week, we had Mitch Maher back to teach Acts. i loved it!! any time someone wants to take time out of their day to walk through a book of the Bible with me, i'm all ears. sign me up. :) it was fun putting the pieces together with Mitch, and i'm looking forward to Bernard coming to teach Romans tuesday through thursday. get ready, it's going to be like trying to get a drink from a firehose.

this week i was convicted and challenged when i least expected it. as part of the Institute, we each have to give two student talks...one in the fall and one in the spring. i've already done both of mine, but the rest of my classmates haven't finished yet so i still get to listen to them teach on tuesday and thursday mornings before lunch. it's always great to hear what the Lord is placing on my classmates' hearts and how they're applying what our teachers come and talk about (our talks have to correspond to a topic we covered in the last two weeks of class).

this past week my friend Emily spoke and she was convicting. she did an awesome job sharing her passion and being real with us. for starters, she wore a Mizzou jersey and shorts. being a sports FANATIC myself, i was hooked (not to mention, she spoke on thursday...the night after our big win over dook...101-87). GO HEELS!!!! i'm still gloating. :) Em talked about passion. so, what's your passion? (hint: should be Christ) and what is Christ's passion? she made the connection that our passion should, first and foremost, be Christ. thus, whatever Christ is passionate about, we should be passionate about as well. so what is Christ passionate about? people, especially unbelievers. so why am i not passionate about unbelievers like He is? why am i not actively seeking them? why am i not speaking to them about my Jesus instead of just relying on my lifestyle to be an example? all very valid questions. and very convicting.

am i praying for my friends who are unbelievers? well, not like i should be. i was more faithful in doing that when i was with them. now that i'm removed from them and living in a Christian bubble of sorts, it's easy to forget and lose that sense of urgency in sharing Christ. like i said, very convicting.

the other thing that has been convicting for me recently is a song. Jimmy Needham is my new favorite. his music is incredible and i'm slightly obsessed with it right now (thanks to Chris Hubbard). all of his songs are awesome, but one song really hits home. "hurricane" has become my prayer until further notice. the words are challenging. and i realize it's a bold and difficult prayer, but real growth comes when He breaks me. i want to be broken.

that's all for now. still plugging away on belief statements. two and a half weeks until they're due and i'm nowhere close to being done. as dad always says, "ready, fire, aim!!"

so the world may know,
bekah <><

live for Jesus. laugh uncontrollably. love unconditionally.