I turn 24 this Sunday. How crazy is that? If I haven't told you already and you're reading this, please come to a BIRTHDAY PARTY that we're having at 1pm on Saturday (Sept 27th) for cool Oxy people, born at the end of September, whose names begin with "J" The music, spoken word, food and fun will be held at Jess, Sharon, and Jess' house on Budlong. Call me if you need directions...
I have great hopes for this year as I am entering my 2nd year in Servant Partners. This past year has really gone by quickly but God has been so good through it all. We taught ESL classes to our neighbors, prayed and fasted for our community and I have seen so many amazing things come to pass.
This past weekend I took a weekend to just get away from the lunacy that is Los Angeles. Sharon, Jenny, Dia and I fled the city to a monastery in Riverside where we took a day and a half to just rest, pray and listen to God about this upcoming year in the internship. The nuns have opened their house up to visitors and they have beautiful gardens and a stone labyrinth. The labyrinth is a walkway partitioned with brick that winds back and forth until you reach the center. It is an incredible devotional practice to pray and walk because it symbolizes how God leads us perfectly and how we cannot rely on our own understanding. While I was there, I also saw a coyote, hummingbirds, and a black woodpecker and it reminds me of how beautiful creation is. We ended the weekend by doing Lectio Devina on Isaiah 42: 1-9
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;he will not falter of be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.
This is what God the LORD says-he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
"I the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a convenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
See the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
What a beautiful promise to hold on to...I pray that I this scripture would really inform how I see the world and interact with people.
