NaPoWriMo: And So It Begins

It's March 31st and over at NaPoWriMo.net they have posted an "extra" prompt! Yay!

The prompt is to look at this poem by Bernadette Mayer and write a poem inspired by it that begins with the line, "I guess its too late to live [somewhere]." As I am only 22 (and 6 months, as of yesterday), I don't feel like it is too late for me to live anywhere. The world is my potential house. So instead I am writing a poem that begins with the line, "I guess its too late to be a mascot."

There are two reasons this line came to mind: the first is that I started watching Hulu's series, "Behind the Mask" (I thought it'd be dumb, but it's so good; I watched an entire season in one night!) and secondly, there have been occasions where I was at a football game and I saw the mascot and it just looked like a whole lot of fun. Other first lines I <briefly> considered were: "I guess its too late to be a Strutter" and "I guess its too late to be a creative writing minor." Without further ado, here is my poem!

I guess its too late to be a mascot
To don the mask
And rile up the fans
To be beloved by everyone
I guess its too late to be Boko the Bobcat
To play with a ball of string
To take pictures with little kids and college students
To do anything I want, anonymously.
I guess its too late for that to be me.
But maybe another mask is the last thing I need.
We all wear masks every day
We decide who we want people to see
I play a part in this world
Each day I am cast and directed by me
We only let people know parts of ourselves
We only let certain people know anything at all
Wearing our masks to keep others away.
Maybe another mask is the last thing I need.
I bet its hard to see out of
And I bet it gets really hot in there
And I bet that suit really smells.
Maybe I don't wanna be a mascot at all.
But maybe we all need to be the mascot of our inner, true selves
Unafraid of what other people will think
Doing whatever it is that we want to do
Even if to others it seems as silly
As playing with a ball of string.
Maybe we each need to don our own cartoonish, giant head
And show the world who we really are
And if mascots are any indication,
The world will love us for who we truly are
The crowds will cheer for us
Every time we come out into the stadiums and playing fields of life.





Tomorrow officially begins NaPoWriMo, so assuming that everything goes well, I will be back with another poem!

See ya tomorrow!

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2015!

Call me nerdy, but when NaPoWriMo tweeted that they would be having countdown posts for the next 7 days leading up to April and the beginning of NaPoWriMo, I got pretty excited.

I do plan to ATTEMPT to write a poem every day in April, hopefully from NaPoWriMo's daily prompts (sometimes I have trouble getting inspired to write poetry, but I really do enjoy it).

So this post is meant to :

A) Inform you that I'll be posting a whole lot more now (at least once daily! [fingers crossed])
B) Encourage you to look into NaPoWriMo (and maybe even participate!)
C) To affirm that I am participating if any fellow NaPoWriMo-ers should happen to stop by before I post a poem (on account of my never having posted a poem here before)

There are three reasons that I'm excited about NaPoWriMo:

1) Ever since I discovered NaPoWriMo (I'm honestly not sure when that was, at least four years ago, I think?), I've attempted to write a poem inspired by the daily prompt, but as yet, I have not managed to stick it out through the entirety of April, but I'm really hoping that this year will be different since I'll be posting the poems on my blog instead of keeping them in a personal journal (even though that is my favorite way to write poems - there's something special about pen on paper, you know?).

2) It is a challenge: can you write a poem every day for 30 days? Yes? Prove it. "Don't believe me; just watch."

3) A lot of people claim they have no regrets, but you know what I do have regrets; I'm not perfect and I make mistakes and recently, I have realized just how much I wish I was a writing minor. I really miss creative writing and writing prompts and positive feedback on my writing and all the things that go with non-technical writing. As a biology major, I do a lot of writing (believe it or not), but it is always technical; I do enjoy it, but I just really want to be creative. Writing used to be my outlet and I have somewhat gotten back to that with this blog and with my journal (which I'm not keeping daily, but I always have with me to jot down quick ideas and whatnot), but I still feel a little bit of a creative void and I'm hoping that NaPoWriMo will help with it.

You might be wondering why I don't add a writing minor and the answer is simple, I'm graduating this May (everyone keeps counting down and I just wish they'd stop; I have too much to do before graduation and I currently have no clue what I'm doing after graduation [other than being in my childhood best friend's wedding! - but that's not what I mean...])

Finally, I hope you'll consider this post an invitation. I hope you'll consider taking this challenge with me, whether it's through following my blog (and calling me out if I haven't posted a poem that day!) or actually writing poems every day through April (whether pen and paper or blog form).

Will you be participating in NaPoWriMo? Do you wanna help keep me accountable? Are you going to follow my poetry posts or actually writing your own poems? Let me know; I'd love to hear from you!

In the meantime, I'm on pins and needles til NaPoWriMo posts the first prompt!

Eagerly,

Sharon

The Passover and the Lord's Supper

I recently had the great pleasure of attending a presentation of "Messiah in Passover" by a missionary from Chosen People Ministries.

It was a great presentation and it made me realize just how important the Passover should be to Christians.

We know that Jesus was celebrating the Passover when he gave us the tradition of the Lord's Supper.

But what I had never realized was that the Lord's Supper comes directly from the Passover Seder.

Early in the Seder, the middle piece of matzah is removed and broken. One half, called the afikoman, is hidden for later use.

After the meal has been eaten, the afikoman is found and eaten with the third cup of wine, the cup of Redemption, which represented the lambs' blood which directed the angel of death to "pass over" the Jews' homes in Egypt and spare their children from the last plague, but Jesus changed the meaning of this cup saying that it now represents HIS blood, the blood of the Lamb of God.

Luke 22:19-20: And when he had taken some bread and given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, "This is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me." And in the same way, he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

It is so symbolic. I don't know how we Christians have been missing it all for so long. I mean, the afikoman is broken, hidden, and then returned. Jesus was broken, buried, and raised. The Christian symbolism of the Passover Seder is amazing. I really feel that Christians should observe the Passover, after all, Jesus himself did.

There is so much more symbolism in this meal, if you have an opportunity to hear "Messiah in Passover" by someone from Chosen People Ministries, I really hope you will go listen.

Chosen People Ministries seeks to teach Jews about the Messiah, for more on them visit their website. They definitely deserve support!

Obviously there is way more to the Passover Seder, I just wanted to highlight the portion that Jesus made into the Last Supper. If you would like to learn more about the Passover Seder, here is a brief overview.

Blessings,

Sharon

Struggling with the Call

Obviously the Lord calls to all people. He calls us to follow him, to believe in him, to worship him.

And he gives us talents which help to determine our careers.

But there is another call from the Lord.

Jesus specifically called 12 disciples to follow him, live with him, learn from him, and ultimately to go out and teach his teachings and heal more people.

Then he sent out 70 (or 72, depending where you are reading) others to teach and to heal as well.

But I doubt that was all of his followers, we do know that he attracted quite the following while he was here on earth. So what happened to his other followers after Christ left the scene? I imagine they were part of the membership of the early churches, but that doesn't mean that they all traveled, taught, and healed.

We are all chosen by God and we all have a place in His kingdom.

But we are called to different things.

Some are called to ministry.

And that is what I'm struggling with.

I think I might be called to ministry or mission work or something along those lines.

But when I try to talk to people about it, they tell me that I don't have to go into 'the' ministry. They say that I can get a job in whatever I want and then serve the community and, sure, this is true, many people do this and they are doing the Lord's work, but I'm not sure that's what the Lord wants from me.

I think he wants more than that (from me).
I mean Jesus himself set the standard pretty high for his followers:

As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes - even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

I mean that's pretty clear isn't it? Jesus wants our WHOLE life. He wants us to answer the call without hesitation. He wants to come before everything else and he wants us to be willing to give it ALL up for and to him. (Note: I don't think he literally means you should hate your family, I think he meant you should be willing to give up everything to follow him, and that is a pretty big order to fill).

But I do feel a hesitation and when I speak to someone about it, I hope they will affirm me and say that maybe he is calling me to the ministry. But they seem against it. They seem to think I would be throwing my life away if I went into the ministry or if I decided to go to seminary.

But how could I be throwing my life away if I'm trying to do the Lord's work?

I know that my hesitation isn't good. I feel torn. I want to get a job in biology, but simultaneously I want to go into the ministry or missions. I wonder what Jesus would say to me?

I believe my hesitation and my divided feelings are due to my human and spiritual natures being in disagreement. It is my hope that I can find the equilibrium where I am answering the Lord's call and hopefully doing something biology related. Only time will tell.

Some people think that if you are called, it will be easy, but nowhere in the Bible does it assure us of an easy life. In fact, Christians are assured of a hard life. Jesus himself says, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:20). And we know that Jesus was mocked and crucified so that is a rough life. So why do people think that Christianity assures us a rich, easy, happy life? It DOESN'T! Our reward is in heaven, not on earth.

And if just being a Christian is difficult, why would answering the call to the ministry be easy?


If you are struggling with anything in your life, I want to take a moment to reassure and reaffirm you. There is nothing wrong with struggling. There is nothing wrong with temptation. Jesus himself was tempted, so why should we expect to be free from temptation? Jesus struggled with accepting the call on his life. Before he was arrested, Jesus prayed to God, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42). Following Jesus's example, we should pray when we face temptation, fear, and struggling. God will strengthen us to do whatever he calls us to.

Blessings,

Sharon

Is It I, Lord? Are You Calling Me?

In 1 Samuel chapter 3, we learn the story of the Lord calling Samuel. Samuel believes it is Eli calling him during the night, he goes to Eli and Eli tells him that he did not call. Three times the Lord called. Three times Samuel thought it was Eli. The third time, Eli realized it was the Lord and told Samuel what to do.

Last year, I heard a minister tell the story of how God called to her as a child (the same way he called Samuel), but she ignored him, he called her again when she was older and she ignored him, he called again when she was a senior in college and she finally began to answer the call.

There is a hymn called, "Here I am, Lord" the chorus says:

Here I am, Lord,
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord,
If you lead me,
I will hold your people in my heart.

It's a great song.

In these three examples, the Lord literally called these people. They heard his voice. I'm not sure the Lord always calls in that way.

But I do think he's been calling me.

It's more of a feeling than a voice.

I wish I literally heard his voice calling.

But I haven't, I've just felt the Spirit pulling me.

To what? I'm not sure.

But I pray that my answer to whatever the Lord asks of me is: "Here I am, Lord...I will go, Lord if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart."

Have you ever felt God calling you to something? How did you know it was God? How did you know what he was calling you to?

Journaling

When I was in high school, I used to journal a lot.

I had this spiral notebook that I always carried with me. It had a purple cover.

I wrote my thoughts and my feelings and things that happened in it.

I rarely let anyone read it.

And if I let you read it, well that meant that you mattered a whole lot to me and I trusted you a whole lot.

It had helped me to process, to cope, to remember.

But at some point, I stopped journaling.

I'm not sure why.

So the other day I bought a little tiny pink-ish leatherbound (I think it is leather) notebook.

I plan to start journaling again, but the weird thing is I don't know where to start.

I guess I'll just carry it around until the mood strikes me or I think something that seems profound or whatever.

Am I the only one who sees a blank page and has mixed feelings?

It's like I want to write, but I'm worried that it won't be inspired enough. Like I'm worried that later I won't think it's good enough. But that isn't the purpose of journaling...

Do you journal? What do you write about? How do you start a new journal?

xoxo,

Sharon

What Does it Mean to Love Others?

If, as Christians, we believe that God loved all people so much that he suffered and died for all humankind, then how much more should we love and value each and every person?

And if we agree that this means we should love and value each and every person, how do we do that?

What is love?

What is it to love others?

Christian or not, we get a really good answer by looking at the life of Christ.

Christ healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the lame walk, made the deaf here, he fed the hungry, he didn't judge, he spoke up when people were going to harm someone else and stopped them, he never turned anyone away. He went through life loving everyone. Even right before he was arrested he reattached the soldier's ear.

Jesus said that we should "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV).

Did you get that? It is just as important to love our neighbors as it is to love God. And by neighbors, Jesus means all other people.

And if all of that isn't good enough, Jesus, himself said: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13 KJV).

And then Jesus did just that, he suffered, bled, and died for all of us on earth, because he is desperate to be in relationship with each and every one of us.

So practically, how should we love others?

When you see someone eating alone, ask if you can sit with them.





When you see a homeless person, help them in any way you can.

When you hear of wrong doing in the world, stand against it.

It means giving your shirt off your back or the shoes off your feet.

It means giving a hungry person your last piece of bread.

It means speaking up for the voiceless.

It means seeking justice for those who are unrightly accused.

Standing up for the downtrodden.

Speaking up when you want to turn away.

It means selflessly giving.

It means serving.

It means:
“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” (John Wesley).

And yes, it could potentially mean giving up your life for the life of someone else.

xoxo

Sharon

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

In campus ministries we talk a lot about reaching those who don't know Christ and I know that is important and it is definitely a meaningful and worthwhile goal, but I think we are missing something here.

In our focus on those who don't know Christ we forget about those who do know Christ.

Just because someone believes in Christ doesn't mean they aren't lost...

...or wandering....

....or questioning....

....or feeling alone....

In college, we are surrounded by independence and freedom, we are surrounded by the secular. We are surrounded by Christians and non-Christians. And maybe in this tumultuous time, we get swept under, lost. And when we finally bob to the surface there isn't a Christian in sight.

Maybe like me, they are shy and introverted. I don't like to go to new places alone. It helps me to have someone with me or an invitation to go. I wouldn't have found Chi Alpha at Texas State if one of my (few) friends hadn't invited me to their BBQ at the beginning of my junior year.

It was a huge leap of faith for me to join Sigma Phi Lambda because I knew no one in it and I knew no one joining it, but I had been fighting the feeling that I should join it up until my junior year.

I'm so glad that I took those scary steps of faith to join those organizations because I have made amazing friends and I have learned wonderful things, I have so many people to go to for love and support and prayer in times of need.

But what if my friend hadn't invited me to the BBQ, what if I hadn't been courageous and joined Phi Lamb? I don't even want to imagine where I would be. But I will. I would be scared and alone ALL the time. I would be isolated and when things were difficult I would have no friends to turn to. I wouldn't have friends to speak God's truth into my life when I need it. I would be so ready to get out of here, but instead I am sad to go, because I have found such community here.

Being a Christian means being a part of community. But not all Christians will seek it out in college. So those of us who have found community need to seek out those isolated Christians, we need to befriend them, we need to show them that they are not alone and they never have to be alone.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd has 100 sheep, but one is missing, but that one is so important the he leaves the other 99 to find the 1 that is lost.

What do we know about that one sheep?

It was part of the flock,
         but now it isn't.
The shepherd knows it
         and he knows that it's missing.
The sheep may be in danger.
That one sheep is very valuable.

That one sheep is like Christians who haven't found a spot at college. They are lost, they are valuable, they are alone, they are separate, they may be in danger, and the Lord knows them. And he wants them to be a part of the community very much. It is not the responsibility of the sheep to find the flock, it is the responsibility of the shepherd to find the sheep. Though we are the sheep, we are also the hands and feet and mouth of Christ, therefore, we are the hands and feet and the mouth of the shepherd.

Therefore, it is our duty to find the lost or alone or separated Christians. It is our duty to reunite them with the body of believers.

 I believe that finding and reaching them is an achievable goal.