Some live their whole lives in the safety of the shallow end. Some experience the deep and never live in shallows again for the shallows are the much lesser of the two. Neither of these is how we are called to live.
When I say shallows I am referring to the shallow, simple, everyday concerns of life -- eating, drinking, socializing, walking, working. When I say the deep I am referring to the insightful, relational, intimacy with Christ. Sometimes we can be so pompous to think that the everyday concerns of life are of no importance and cannot bring about any fruit for Christ; this is not true. The shallow aspects are just as much of God as the profound aspects. God designed us to be dependent on food, water, human interaction, sleep, and work, and therefore he gave us the ability to bring glory to him in those. So many times I find myself alienating these concerns and thinking of them as lesser and thinking I should not waste any excess time, work, or emotion into them. These aspects of life are essential, in fact they take up a majority of our time so why should they not be used as tools for Christ?
Oswald Chambers put it this way: "It is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are not shallow, which is a sure sign that you are a spiritual prig....To be shallow is no sign of being wicked, nor is shallowness a sign that there are no deeps: the ocean has a shore.
Jesus walked, talked, ate, slept, and conversed with people of this earth. He used those simple everyday interactions to help build the relationships and prepare people for the depths to come. Now he also did not solely swim in the shallows; many, many times he would go off and swim in the deep in intimacy with his father. Chambers says we are to "never show the deeps to anyone but God." Only God cares about your depths, and if you are to reveal those to anyone else, you are probably doing it out of pride and searching for recognition from people and things of this world. The depths are meant for you and God alone.
Chambers closes with "Determinedly take no one seriously but God, and the first person you find you have to leave severely alone as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself."
Swim in the shallows. Swim in the deeps.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
spiritual retreat
before we leave for uruguay tomorrow i figured it'd be good to splurge everything that has happened in the past few days. this weekend was the spiritual retreat. we did lots of group bonding games (toxic river, blanket folding, crazy relay, panty hose/banana/pudding, group sit, human knot), had lots of food, had some great student speakers, had small groups, had free time (pool party), had church and communion, hardly slept bc it was so hot out, everything skit, encouragement notes, found a puppy in the trash, and then some.
i got to skype with shannon today. super stoked for her to get here. we had convo tonight and went to benny hana's (sp?) which is one of those hibachi grill places. studying tonight for our econ test which is essentially a final bc we havent had a test or quiz all semester. tomorrow night we leave for uruguay! oh and alycia decided to stay for the second semester, super great news!
i got to skype with shannon today. super stoked for her to get here. we had convo tonight and went to benny hana's (sp?) which is one of those hibachi grill places. studying tonight for our econ test which is essentially a final bc we havent had a test or quiz all semester. tomorrow night we leave for uruguay! oh and alycia decided to stay for the second semester, super great news!
Friday, November 18, 2011
the sweet cup.
The other day I was reading the daily devotional out of Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest and came across a couple sentences that really stuck out at me (there's great ideas/truths/nuggets of wisdom everyday but this one really resonated with me.) It goes:
Always guard against self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may be a disease. If od has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential order of God for you is a hard time of difficulty, go through with it, but never choose the scene of your martyrdom.
It's been very obvious to me that this time in life is that of a sweet cup -- life feels too good to be true. I'm surrounded by so many studly and amazing people, I get to go to an amazing school with a super sick campus here in BA, classes are interesting and relatively easy (compared to last year), we get so much good food, i get to travel the world, I'm relatively healthy, and so much more. In the past when I've been in times with a lack of struggle, I have struggled. I like challenges, I like having something to fight against. It's in struggles where I find myself growing and coming closer to God, and so I have turned away the sweet times and prayed for more hard times. This passage made me realize that my desire to struggle is a self-chosen service, a selfish sacrifice and that that is unholy. There is a season for everything, and that includes times for the sweet cup. I need to know that struggles are sure to come my way, but for now in this time of joy, bliss, happiness, easiness, and sweetness I need to be so, so thankful and need to learn how to see, feel, and grow in God outside of a struggling context.
catch-up
this week has involved a lot of time spent trying to get an Bolivian visa and after 5 days of work, many hours spent on subtes and buses, many lines, and a buncha money later i finally got it. ive also had a couple awesome skype dates with jack, and brandon and ben. we went to a tango show on wednesday (it was pretty much sex on the dance floor and the girls were hardly wearing anything so it was pretty awkward for some of us) and i had the best meal ive had yet- some kind of meat salad with sauteed vegetables, a sirloin steak with potato fries, and pistachio creme brulee. ive also been doing some planning/research for our long weekend and christmas break.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Zarate
This past weekend we went camping with a fairly large group(15) in a town about an hour and a half northwest of BA. We went by train, which was pretty sketch- they had police officers patrolling up and down the aisles. We went in two waves, one had to stay behind for tango. The first groups train had some mechanical issues so we had to get off and wait for an hour and a half for the next one. We got to talking with some interesting recovering drug addicts who wanted to swap dates with our American girls for dates with Argentinian girls. Eventually the next train came, with the other group on it and we took it all the way up to Zarate.
Once we got there, we didn't really know where we were going but we were lucky enough to have met one of the nicest guys ever and he helped get us to the central plaza to take taxis. When we were told the fare to our campground would be 80 pesos i was fine with it but some people balked at the offer and let their pride get in the way. 3.5 hours of walking later, they were regretting that. It was one of the toughest walks i have ever been on. We were carrying tons of food, 5 gallon bottles of water, and our heavy packs. Not enjoyable. We eventually got there, set up, and went right to sleep.
The next day we got to actually check out the campground and found it to be SUPER cool. It was a mix between a New Orleans bayou, Texas forest, and a Carribean cabana. What looked like 1960s cruise liners had been driven up on land and converted into sketchy hotel rooms, bars, and restaurants. When we were exploring it felt like we were on the Gooneys. We spent a lot of time chilling at the beach, playing in the river, throwing mud at each other, cooking back at the campground, and simply taking it easy.
That night we had a bomb dinner and had a big ole fire. The Argentines around us were so nice, theyd just come up and give us some of their meat that they had cooked. Later in the night, one of the groups came over and asked if they could hang and talk with us. We ended up talking with them for like 4 hours (in spanish) about almost every topic you could think of. It was my first long conversation with an Argentine. After much time spent around the fire, we all eventually went to bed. The next morning we had to get up somewhat early and pack up. When we left we decided to take taxis back- smart decision. It was a great, chill weekend spent with some solid people in a solid place.
Once we got there, we didn't really know where we were going but we were lucky enough to have met one of the nicest guys ever and he helped get us to the central plaza to take taxis. When we were told the fare to our campground would be 80 pesos i was fine with it but some people balked at the offer and let their pride get in the way. 3.5 hours of walking later, they were regretting that. It was one of the toughest walks i have ever been on. We were carrying tons of food, 5 gallon bottles of water, and our heavy packs. Not enjoyable. We eventually got there, set up, and went right to sleep.
The next day we got to actually check out the campground and found it to be SUPER cool. It was a mix between a New Orleans bayou, Texas forest, and a Carribean cabana. What looked like 1960s cruise liners had been driven up on land and converted into sketchy hotel rooms, bars, and restaurants. When we were exploring it felt like we were on the Gooneys. We spent a lot of time chilling at the beach, playing in the river, throwing mud at each other, cooking back at the campground, and simply taking it easy.
That night we had a bomb dinner and had a big ole fire. The Argentines around us were so nice, theyd just come up and give us some of their meat that they had cooked. Later in the night, one of the groups came over and asked if they could hang and talk with us. We ended up talking with them for like 4 hours (in spanish) about almost every topic you could think of. It was my first long conversation with an Argentine. After much time spent around the fire, we all eventually went to bed. The next morning we had to get up somewhat early and pack up. When we left we decided to take taxis back- smart decision. It was a great, chill weekend spent with some solid people in a solid place.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Colonia, Uruguay
Today the whole program went to Uruguay. The main purpose was to get our 90-day Argentine tourist visas renewed but it also acted as a mini-EFT. We got up at the crack of dawn and had to be at the casa at 6:45. From there we took buses to Puerto Madero and took the ferry across the river (which really looks like an ocean) for an hour an arrived in Colonia. We all took naps on the ferry.
We had a city tour for the first half of the day, and then lunch. We free time for 2 hours after lunch so Wes, Jake, Paul, Luke, Austin and I rented a mule (6-person ATV) and went to town on it. We were zooming down the tiny, ancient streets of Uruguay, getting passed (in very friendly ways) on their equivalent of PCH, went off-roading through beachy-woods and onto the beaches (which we weren't supposed to do), parked on the outskirts of the Sheraton Hotel (a 5-star, tropically decorated hotel), snuck in and acted like regular patrons, swam in their pool, drove around a new private neighbohood development, drove around the golf course, more beach runs, hit speed bumps too fast, and topped it off with a little trinket shopping. The entire time we never saw one security guard, police officer, or questioning local. Uruguay is super chill, nice, sunny, and laid back. I'm super excited to go there for our long weekend coming up.
We had a city tour for the first half of the day, and then lunch. We free time for 2 hours after lunch so Wes, Jake, Paul, Luke, Austin and I rented a mule (6-person ATV) and went to town on it. We were zooming down the tiny, ancient streets of Uruguay, getting passed (in very friendly ways) on their equivalent of PCH, went off-roading through beachy-woods and onto the beaches (which we weren't supposed to do), parked on the outskirts of the Sheraton Hotel (a 5-star, tropically decorated hotel), snuck in and acted like regular patrons, swam in their pool, drove around a new private neighbohood development, drove around the golf course, more beach runs, hit speed bumps too fast, and topped it off with a little trinket shopping. The entire time we never saw one security guard, police officer, or questioning local. Uruguay is super chill, nice, sunny, and laid back. I'm super excited to go there for our long weekend coming up.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
mykonos
been feeling pretty crappy lately so i havent been too good at keeping this up.
on sunday i went to the ecological preserve that ive been meaning to go to for quite a while. its a lot more impressive than i thought itd be. in some ways, it reminded me of the walk on the way to the points in malibu- wide open gravel trail, bodies of water filled with cat-tails, weeds, and seaweed of sorts. gettin out in the wild on our EFT was a tease so getting back into the urban jungle of BA was hard for me. this afternoon back out in nature was a great relief. God showed up.
i spent a lot of time this week cranking out papers so that i can go camping this weekend. also had lots of doc appts and pharmacy visits. hope this isn't a polyp. i also got to skype shelbs this week which was great. wrote a few letters. got a letter from grandma and grandpa.
tonight we went to mykonos- a greek restaurant. the pita bread was so bomb. im swear im gunna come out of this year being a fatty. at multiple points during the dinner the lights would dim and a guy and girl would come out doing some kind of greek dance. at one point they invited all us to come dance and it turned into one big fat greek dance party. we also got to throw plates on the ground as they danced for us. such a fun night. tomorrow is uruguay.
on sunday i went to the ecological preserve that ive been meaning to go to for quite a while. its a lot more impressive than i thought itd be. in some ways, it reminded me of the walk on the way to the points in malibu- wide open gravel trail, bodies of water filled with cat-tails, weeds, and seaweed of sorts. gettin out in the wild on our EFT was a tease so getting back into the urban jungle of BA was hard for me. this afternoon back out in nature was a great relief. God showed up.
i spent a lot of time this week cranking out papers so that i can go camping this weekend. also had lots of doc appts and pharmacy visits. hope this isn't a polyp. i also got to skype shelbs this week which was great. wrote a few letters. got a letter from grandma and grandpa.
tonight we went to mykonos- a greek restaurant. the pita bread was so bomb. im swear im gunna come out of this year being a fatty. at multiple points during the dinner the lights would dim and a guy and girl would come out doing some kind of greek dance. at one point they invited all us to come dance and it turned into one big fat greek dance party. we also got to throw plates on the ground as they danced for us. such a fun night. tomorrow is uruguay.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
EFT Recap
I don't know if I've ever done so much in one week as I did on the EFT...YL camp probably beats it out but still, no other week compares.
On Friday morning we had medialunas for breakfast at the casa, and then we rolled out to the airport. On the flight I sat next to a girl from Oregon and we talked quite a bit. She had studied abroad more than she has studied at her own university. Crazy! We landed at a super sketch airport way down south of our destination due to the ashes coming from the Chilean volcano. When we got off there was nothing but the shanty airport building and quintessential Patagonia- wide open nothingness with mountains in the background. After waiting for an hour or so we took a 5 hour bus ride up to Bariloche. That drive was one of the prettiest drives I have ever taken. It gave me a great glimpse of Patagonia and it was everything I thought it would be and more. So much open space, rando rivers here and there, small mountain towns placed sporadically through the valleys and passes, raging rivers running through valley floors covered by forests, and more nothingness. Words don't do it justice, obviously. We pulled into our hotel to find it resting on the banks of a lake that was overshadowed by a range of mountains, i had never had a room with such an amazing view. That night we had dinner at a huge log resort looking thing called Family Weiss. We had typical Patagonian snackage- cheeses, sausages, olives, dried meats -- Patagonian lamb, and Patagonian pasta. After dinner kev and i explored the town a bit, found a awesome square that made us feel like we were in switzerland, and saw many cool leather goods. That night we all crashed kinda early.
Saturday
The breakfasts at our hotels were the best we had had in months. They're not usually too big on breakfasts in Argentina so the buffet feast we had was quite the treat. The day was dominated by a bus tour that took us to some amazing panorama views and beautiful bays. There was the option to do a hike, but kev, taylor and I stayed back and chilled and took sweet pics. Later we had a boat tour that took us to a couple cool islands and forests. Patagonian skinny-dipping did occur (there were no girls mom). Night was filled with dinner at the hotel, sushi tag, and leg wrestling.
Sunday
The next morning we were bused to the base of a mountain close to our next stop. We had lunch in a green grove, surrounded by trees, with a little creek running through it. We proceeded to climb the mountain for the next 2 hours or so. They told us that it would be easy, but it was HARD! There were times when I, one of the most fit of the group, wanted to turn around. I was suuuper impressed by how many people made it to the top. The view from up above was amazing, but i quickly looked towards the huge snow slope a couple hundred feet down on the other side. it was just asking to be slid on. After some unsuccessful tries we eventually got the technique down and found ourselves hurling down the side of a mountain for hundreds of yards at a pretty considerable pace. Its moments like those that make me feel most alive and fully feel God's "life to the fullest". Eventually, we came back down and had "tea time" back in the same grove we had lunch. That night we had pizza and empanadas.
Monday
The next day we went to Spring Creek- some kind of plantation/camp - and there we ziplined, went horseback riding through many rivers, kev and i went fishing with a professional guide, had an asado for lunch, and went white water rafting. The water in that river/creek was more clear than any water i have ever seen. No matter how deep it got, i could see clear down to the bottom. We could see fish chasing our lures from 30 yards out! During the rafting our guides were so fun and chill, they let us have wars with each other and stop at turnoffs and jump from rocks into the river. The water was 39 degrees farenheit! Such a fun day. That night Alycia and I put on the Halloween Murder Mystery while we had dinner at the parilla.
Tuesday
We took a short bus ride to another camp-ish thing where we had another full day of activities. We hiked to a waterfall, saw some cave paintings, took some bomb naps in the field beside the lake, went rappelling, went mountain bike riding, had hot coco and doughnuts beside a bonfire while being serenaded by a professional argentine guitar player. The mountain bike riding was one of the most fun things i have ever done. The non-fun part of biking uphill was taken out as we and our bikes were bused to the top of the mountain. We got out and I started to test out my bike by riding it through the fields of flowers, mazes of bushes, and pastures of horses. So cool. So alive. 95% of the ride was downhill, and steep downhill at that. The bikes we had were worth at least a grand and they proved it. We were hitting 40mph at some points, whipping around curves, going over rivers, navigating ruts in the road, and if it weren't for our guides speed restrictions, we could have definitely gone much faster. It was definitely dangerous and borderline scary. That night we went to a restaurant where we were allowed to order whatever we wanted. Kev and i split some venison and a calzone as big as a large pizza. So bomb.
Wednesday
On our last morning i went our exploring around town, found some gaucho stores, and bought a couple sweet knives. The next 24 hours were spent on a bus heading back to BA. All the flights were cancelled because of the volcanoes' ashes. I sat next to Dan Lander and we had some great conversations. I doubt any other program could have gone through that bus ride.
Our EFT Was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I couldn't even imagine having to spend my EFT going to museums and looking at old buildings like other programs. I got closer with several people and met some awesome people- Diego (our guide-friend for the week) and Silvina (our travel agent and Rafa's good friend). I could say so much more but my fingers are tired of typing.
On Friday morning we had medialunas for breakfast at the casa, and then we rolled out to the airport. On the flight I sat next to a girl from Oregon and we talked quite a bit. She had studied abroad more than she has studied at her own university. Crazy! We landed at a super sketch airport way down south of our destination due to the ashes coming from the Chilean volcano. When we got off there was nothing but the shanty airport building and quintessential Patagonia- wide open nothingness with mountains in the background. After waiting for an hour or so we took a 5 hour bus ride up to Bariloche. That drive was one of the prettiest drives I have ever taken. It gave me a great glimpse of Patagonia and it was everything I thought it would be and more. So much open space, rando rivers here and there, small mountain towns placed sporadically through the valleys and passes, raging rivers running through valley floors covered by forests, and more nothingness. Words don't do it justice, obviously. We pulled into our hotel to find it resting on the banks of a lake that was overshadowed by a range of mountains, i had never had a room with such an amazing view. That night we had dinner at a huge log resort looking thing called Family Weiss. We had typical Patagonian snackage- cheeses, sausages, olives, dried meats -- Patagonian lamb, and Patagonian pasta. After dinner kev and i explored the town a bit, found a awesome square that made us feel like we were in switzerland, and saw many cool leather goods. That night we all crashed kinda early.
Saturday
The breakfasts at our hotels were the best we had had in months. They're not usually too big on breakfasts in Argentina so the buffet feast we had was quite the treat. The day was dominated by a bus tour that took us to some amazing panorama views and beautiful bays. There was the option to do a hike, but kev, taylor and I stayed back and chilled and took sweet pics. Later we had a boat tour that took us to a couple cool islands and forests. Patagonian skinny-dipping did occur (there were no girls mom). Night was filled with dinner at the hotel, sushi tag, and leg wrestling.
Sunday
The next morning we were bused to the base of a mountain close to our next stop. We had lunch in a green grove, surrounded by trees, with a little creek running through it. We proceeded to climb the mountain for the next 2 hours or so. They told us that it would be easy, but it was HARD! There were times when I, one of the most fit of the group, wanted to turn around. I was suuuper impressed by how many people made it to the top. The view from up above was amazing, but i quickly looked towards the huge snow slope a couple hundred feet down on the other side. it was just asking to be slid on. After some unsuccessful tries we eventually got the technique down and found ourselves hurling down the side of a mountain for hundreds of yards at a pretty considerable pace. Its moments like those that make me feel most alive and fully feel God's "life to the fullest". Eventually, we came back down and had "tea time" back in the same grove we had lunch. That night we had pizza and empanadas.
Monday
The next day we went to Spring Creek- some kind of plantation/camp - and there we ziplined, went horseback riding through many rivers, kev and i went fishing with a professional guide, had an asado for lunch, and went white water rafting. The water in that river/creek was more clear than any water i have ever seen. No matter how deep it got, i could see clear down to the bottom. We could see fish chasing our lures from 30 yards out! During the rafting our guides were so fun and chill, they let us have wars with each other and stop at turnoffs and jump from rocks into the river. The water was 39 degrees farenheit! Such a fun day. That night Alycia and I put on the Halloween Murder Mystery while we had dinner at the parilla.
Tuesday
We took a short bus ride to another camp-ish thing where we had another full day of activities. We hiked to a waterfall, saw some cave paintings, took some bomb naps in the field beside the lake, went rappelling, went mountain bike riding, had hot coco and doughnuts beside a bonfire while being serenaded by a professional argentine guitar player. The mountain bike riding was one of the most fun things i have ever done. The non-fun part of biking uphill was taken out as we and our bikes were bused to the top of the mountain. We got out and I started to test out my bike by riding it through the fields of flowers, mazes of bushes, and pastures of horses. So cool. So alive. 95% of the ride was downhill, and steep downhill at that. The bikes we had were worth at least a grand and they proved it. We were hitting 40mph at some points, whipping around curves, going over rivers, navigating ruts in the road, and if it weren't for our guides speed restrictions, we could have definitely gone much faster. It was definitely dangerous and borderline scary. That night we went to a restaurant where we were allowed to order whatever we wanted. Kev and i split some venison and a calzone as big as a large pizza. So bomb.
Wednesday
On our last morning i went our exploring around town, found some gaucho stores, and bought a couple sweet knives. The next 24 hours were spent on a bus heading back to BA. All the flights were cancelled because of the volcanoes' ashes. I sat next to Dan Lander and we had some great conversations. I doubt any other program could have gone through that bus ride.
Our EFT Was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I couldn't even imagine having to spend my EFT going to museums and looking at old buildings like other programs. I got closer with several people and met some awesome people- Diego (our guide-friend for the week) and Silvina (our travel agent and Rafa's good friend). I could say so much more but my fingers are tired of typing.
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