[ 100! ]

Sunset at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes -- mid-June(ish) 2007

This is my one-hundredth post!

Apparently the approximately every-day posts last summer added up quickly.

Summer project in Traverse City is really becoming exciting. We're seeing the Lord move on this campus and throughout the city, drawing people to Himself and nudging our group toward more confidence in the gospel of true grace and redemption.

After dinner this evening we had a brief time of Soularium training -- Solarium is an innovative tool developed by Campus Crusade, asking those we share with to choose amongst a group of photo images in response to the following prompts:

• Describes my life right now...
• What I wish were a part of my life...
• Describes God...
• What I've experienced spiritually...
• What I wish were true of my spiritual life/journey

Thus far Solarium has been great for our project. It drives us toward listening -- really listening -- to those we meet, walking alongside them throughout the length of time we talk with them. I especially like Solarium because it is relational and seems to especially resonate well with college-aged students. I am excited to use this at Muskingum with our team there.

Tonight one of the students here at NMC, Eusef, trusted in Christ -- so exciting! Just the other evening he was watching Forrest Gump with our group and this evening Rochelle, Natalie and Lauren had the opportunity to share the gospel with him! Rochelle -- who is one of my roommates and such an amazing young woman -- was encouraged and told me the joy she could see on Eusef's face was incredible. Praise God.

This evening Meredith and I had the opportunity to talk with another NMC student, Jeffrey, who was actually downtown by the bay -- sitting on the top of a picnic table and reading a huge novel. There weren't too many people by the lake this evening, but I had noticed him sitting there and asked Meredith if she wanted to see if he wanted to go through Soularium with us.

He agreed, but immediately was inquisitive beyond Soularium itself -- especially as to why we were in Traverse City and what we believe about general and pretty specific faith issues. He's well-read in religion and social issues, which was exciting to me -- I love interacting with people whose questions demand me to articulate my faith, passions and worldview -- to seek common ground but to be able to stand firm in the gospel and in what Jesus is doing in the lives of others around me and in my own life, too.

We dialogued for about an hour -- everything from Frederick Douglass (no joke!), poetry, poverty, Jesus' teachings, his friendships (in Traverse City, nonetheless!) with Muslims and all sorts of stuff that reminded me of a conversation with one young couple earlier this summer and various extended conversations with friends in Austin.

At one point he looked at me and asked, "So, what is your life going to look like?"

My jaw probably dropped, to be honest, because this has been at the forefront of my mind throughout project, thinking about the year ahead at Muskingum and life beyond that place. I shared with him my hopes of someday living in a city, doing ministry of some sort and living and walking -- in some way -- alongside those whose life is not nearly as "cushy" as my own, taking seriously how Jesus cared -- and cares -- for the weak, defending them and exalting those who humble themselves before Him. He shared his concern with the Church, that so much oppression has been initiated in name of Jesus, and I shared honestly about being bound to this world, sin and the unfortunate reality of hypocrisy amongst messy people leading and journeying with other messy people.

Jeffrey told us that he thinks faith is a beautiful thing, that one could believe in a man who walked on water, turned water into wine and during his temptation said that "...man [cannot] live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). I shared with him what I've been thinking lately about faith itself, that nothing in my limited flesh wants to cry out for One greater than me, and that this faith itself is a gift from God alone. Who, logically, wants to give up control of their life -- to depend on Jesus alone -- without faith itself first being an undeserved gift?

I wrote down a few books for Jeffrey to check out -- some Miller ("A suggestion from a writer to a writer..." -- I'm such a nerd!) and an Anne Lamott book I've never read but think that would be right up his alley. We challenged him to read John's Gospel a few times and gave him our e-mail addresses. I really hope we can see him again in the next two weeks and that some of the guys here can connect with him.

I loved this conversation with Jeffrey. It gave me hope in the power of the gospel -- Jesus Himself, who has transformed lives across the world with His victory over sin and death. This conversation -- which could have lasted into the evening, I'm sure -- urged me forward in trusting God with the years ahead of me, that I can share honestly about my dreams and desires with others. Ones that sometimes seem out of reach when I think in terms of what I would naturally lean toward -- a sort of couch and potato chip faith (which all too often characterizes my walk), but the same dreams and desires that God Himself has inspired, as broken and in-process as I am right now.

The Lord is really using this time in Traverse City to develop me in thinking seriously and acting accordingly to "affectionately [desire]" (1 Thess. 2:8a) those around me to know and experience what God Himself has accomplished through the Cross -- and then to labor in love for them to know the freedom and truth of the gospel.

Alright, I am working in a few hours, so I'd better get going. Can't wait to see you all again, whoever and wherever you are.

Much love,

Jessie

"So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." (1 Thess. 2:8)