Almost Fall...

If I remember my science lessons correctly, tomorrow the 21st is the autumnal equinox - one of 2 days a year where there's equal parts day and night (I've also heard people say it's the 22nd...). And so now we begin having shorter days. Not to be such a bummer, but I'd enjoy fall so much more if I knew winter wasn't right behind :). But this has been just a gorgeous September so far, and with that I can't complain. I'm still wearing sandals and leaving windows open. Sorry to not have been posting much - due to part busyness and part just-not-having-much-to-say :).

Here's a few pictures from our first event of the fall - gathering surveys from freshmen.

Liv helped get the cups ready.

We had a beverage, info, a small gospel pamphlet, and a free cup!

We passed out about 1,000! Exciting opportunities to meet some of these new students! This is Anne and Lindsay. I have the joy of working with Lindsay this year. I'm looking forward to it!

Yesterday, my sister-n-law and I got to see Mary Poppins in Minneapolis. It was FAN-TAS-TIC! We both just loved it. We didn't know where our seats would be, but we ended up having 3rd row (?!?!?!?!!!) seats! And at the very end, Mary Poppins flew directly over our heads. But truly, it was a great show. The story is a little different than the movie - some of the stuff in the movie would be really hard to recreate on a stage, but it's still really fun to watch. And just to be that close, you can see so much detail or maybe catch a glimpse of a stagehand. It was fun :).

This week I starting working with my students on campus. I'm so excited for the semester ahead. I also speak this Thursday. I'm speaking on the story of King Ahaz in Isaiah 7. It's not a story I really knew until we were studying Isaiah in my church Bible study. What happens is that King Ahaz and his kingdom are about to be attacked, and he and the people are really afraid. God tells Isaiah to tell Ahaz not to worry but that they'll be fine. Instead of trusting in the Lord, Ahaz goes to make an alliance with Assyria (bad news). I remember reading this and thinking, "What an idiot! The Lord offers you a sure thing and you turn it down!?!" So it's easy to think of Ahaz as an idiot until you look closer. How much more has Christ offered me numerous promises of His faithfulness and care and presence and provision, and yet I can still make an alliance with so many other things instead of trusting in Him. So yeah, I'm a little less zealous in calling Ahaz an idiot :). I love the end of the story cause that's where God promises the sign of Immanuel (which means God with us, another name for Jesus). Despite Ahaz's refusal to trust Him, God says, "Okay, but here's the sign that will be a sure thing for all people of all time." We keep turning from God, but He never turns from us. He keeps after us until we come to Him. So I'm almost done writing the talk and will give it on Thursday.

Well, I think I'll stop there for now. Have a great week!