Be Thou my vision, Oh Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee, ONE
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou my inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart!
High King of Heaven, My Treasure Thou art!
Be Thou my vision, Oh Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light!
High King of Heaven my victory won!
May I reach Heaven's joy, bright Heaven's Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall!
Still be my Vision, Oh Ruler of All
Still be my Vision, Oh Ruler of All!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Joy in ( A Little Bit Of) Adversity
I have been in college for five weeks now. It is very different from what I expected it to be. Of course, that is not a new perception :)
First of all, I can confess to being a bit deceived about secular colleges being a hotbed of liberal thinkers and atheists. Well, universities and such may be like that, but I am attending a simple community college deep in the Bible Belt. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that most of my professors have conservative, logical world views. For example, I have been overjoyed in my Anatomy class to hear my professor proclaim in almost every class session that we, as humans, are too complex to not be Designed, and often makes references to humans having a Great Designer. While I may not draw a direct correlation to his belief in God from this, at least I do not have to sit through a two hour lecture on why we came from monkeys.
Second, I am finding college a little harder than I expected. Not that the classes or homework are hard, but I have discovered I have to filter everything I am taught. That can be exhausting at times. I am used to having a Christian curriculum that I can trust to teach me what is right (but trusting such teaching implicitly can be a bad thing too). Now? I think the people who wrote my history book really hated everything early Americans did to build this nation. Truly I feel almost like I am reading propaganda against the U.S. Luckily my teacher presents a much better view of it (it's actually my favorite class), but when I read the textbook I find my mind rebelling against what is written.
The only place I am encountering any kind of.... well, views radically different from my own is in my Sociology class. I think most of that is the class is more open discussion than closed instruction by the professor. Still I find that I do not like my professor or what I am being taught. I think it is because I have no knowledge when it comes to sociology, I have never been taught the Christian world view of sociology, and therefore have no way of sifting what I am taught to discover what is right and wrong. This is frustrating to me because if I have no way of knowing if something is right or wrong I tend to turn away from it completely. But I know that by learning sociology I can obtain tools that will equip me to defend my faith and strengthen others faith. So right now I am stuck in a quandary. I am hoping to obtain sociology books written from a Christian perspective so that I can get over this frustrating state I am in right now.
Last, I know some people were worried that I was attending a secular college. Despite the few difficulties I am encountering, I can now say with perfect confidence that the Lord knew what He was doing when he led me here. It is a perfect fit and exactly what I need, not only to earn my degree, but also to learn how to share my faith, which is much more important than any other thing I can learn. Being out in the world with people who think my faith is laughable, and sometimes even at my work, makes me value the time that I spend in the Bible and with other Christians all the more. That is my Joy.
One song I have been listening to accurately sums up what I have been thinking these past few weeks. It was written by Barlow Girl and is (allegedly) based on a quote a man wrote on a wall in a concentration camp.
Thought I can't see my story's ending
that doesn't mean the dark night has no end!
It's only here that I find faith
and learn to trust the One who writes my days.
So I'll stand in the pain and the silence
and I'll speak to the dark night:
I believe in the sun
even when its not shining
I believe in love
even when I can't feel it
I believe in God
even when He is silent
No dark can consume light!
No death greater than this life!
We are not forgotten!
Hope is found when we say:
Even when He is silent
I believe in the sun
even when its not shining
I believe in love
even when I can't feel it
I, I believe in God
First of all, I can confess to being a bit deceived about secular colleges being a hotbed of liberal thinkers and atheists. Well, universities and such may be like that, but I am attending a simple community college deep in the Bible Belt. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that most of my professors have conservative, logical world views. For example, I have been overjoyed in my Anatomy class to hear my professor proclaim in almost every class session that we, as humans, are too complex to not be Designed, and often makes references to humans having a Great Designer. While I may not draw a direct correlation to his belief in God from this, at least I do not have to sit through a two hour lecture on why we came from monkeys.
Second, I am finding college a little harder than I expected. Not that the classes or homework are hard, but I have discovered I have to filter everything I am taught. That can be exhausting at times. I am used to having a Christian curriculum that I can trust to teach me what is right (but trusting such teaching implicitly can be a bad thing too). Now? I think the people who wrote my history book really hated everything early Americans did to build this nation. Truly I feel almost like I am reading propaganda against the U.S. Luckily my teacher presents a much better view of it (it's actually my favorite class), but when I read the textbook I find my mind rebelling against what is written.
The only place I am encountering any kind of.... well, views radically different from my own is in my Sociology class. I think most of that is the class is more open discussion than closed instruction by the professor. Still I find that I do not like my professor or what I am being taught. I think it is because I have no knowledge when it comes to sociology, I have never been taught the Christian world view of sociology, and therefore have no way of sifting what I am taught to discover what is right and wrong. This is frustrating to me because if I have no way of knowing if something is right or wrong I tend to turn away from it completely. But I know that by learning sociology I can obtain tools that will equip me to defend my faith and strengthen others faith. So right now I am stuck in a quandary. I am hoping to obtain sociology books written from a Christian perspective so that I can get over this frustrating state I am in right now.
Last, I know some people were worried that I was attending a secular college. Despite the few difficulties I am encountering, I can now say with perfect confidence that the Lord knew what He was doing when he led me here. It is a perfect fit and exactly what I need, not only to earn my degree, but also to learn how to share my faith, which is much more important than any other thing I can learn. Being out in the world with people who think my faith is laughable, and sometimes even at my work, makes me value the time that I spend in the Bible and with other Christians all the more. That is my Joy.
One song I have been listening to accurately sums up what I have been thinking these past few weeks. It was written by Barlow Girl and is (allegedly) based on a quote a man wrote on a wall in a concentration camp.
Thought I can't see my story's ending
that doesn't mean the dark night has no end!
It's only here that I find faith
and learn to trust the One who writes my days.
So I'll stand in the pain and the silence
and I'll speak to the dark night:
I believe in the sun
even when its not shining
I believe in love
even when I can't feel it
I believe in God
even when He is silent
No dark can consume light!
No death greater than this life!
We are not forgotten!
Hope is found when we say:
Even when He is silent
I believe in the sun
even when its not shining
I believe in love
even when I can't feel it
I, I believe in God
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