The Week of Awkward...

Hello world! TGIF was most recently a very fun but competitive game called Bigger and Better. Basically, we all started with a paper clip and you trade that with someone for something they have. You trade that to a different person, and keep going until you’re satisfied, or in our case, until you have to be back in the classroom to see who won. My team got up to a mandolin, and probably would’ve won, but at the last second traded for a vending machine. Due to legal issues and the uncertainty of whether that is a profit or if we just went bankrupt, we did not win. The winner was a washing machine. Whatevs. We had fun, and I (we) owned a mandolin for a while. Our local Spaniard Xenia was in love with the mandolin and barely let go of it, but I played it a bit. On Monday in Worldview Studies, we talked about both Cosmic Humanism and Post-modernism, as most of us will be gone next week for a concert. Cosmic Humanism is the overall term for Scientology, Buddhism, Hinduism, Pantheism, etc. Post-Modernism is the The speaker this week Was BJ Thompson, and his series was called “Who am I? Who Are We? Why Are We Here?” The most memorable things from his talks were over our relationships with one another. He told us that we are so often hiding behind a mask that we don’t let people know the real us and thus never form true relationships. From that we can never know real love. He said that the reason so many of us love our mothers so much is that they know exactly who we are and we can’t hide from them. The very first people were naked and unashamed, but when sin entered the world, they were ashamed and wanted to hide from both God and each other. What’s remarkable about this is that this drive to hide ourselves has continued to plague us as long as sin has been around. We hide most often behind our own accomplishments and achievements in an attempt to put our best foot forward, but never actually take a full step and show our weaknesses and flaws. All in all, a very good speaker with a hard hitting message. That’s all for this post, and I’m currently very excited for the upcoming trip into Kansas City. Next week, same time?

I've Learned To Manage Time!! Coincidence???

It’s blog time again!!! Honestly, I stress so much over these because they’re technically homework assignments, but when I do them, I realize how useful they are! I have to go through everything that’s happened throughout the week and I retain so much more information. I also realize more how blessed I am to be able to do this program. I can definitely say that this is where I am meant to be right now. That being said, on to stuff that’s happened! Friday morning, I had breakfast with my mentor Adam Martin before TGIF as our one-on-one.  We talked for a while then headed back to the island to meet everyone else for the activity. We went to Big Cedar and got to play archery tag, where I proceeded to dominate. Along with the rest of my team, of course. There was a tournament, which my team won, and it was so much fun.  Don’t exactly remember this weekend, but I’m sure it was really fun… On to Monday and worldview studies! This week was about Leninism/Marxism or Communism. This worldview holds the belief that everyone is equal in power, status, and responsibility to help out the whole group. This leads to lack of incentive to work hard and does nothing to stimulate creativity. So the system doesn’t work, basically. Not to mention the fact that it denies the existence of God. This week the staff has been talking to us about managing ourselves, our money, and our time! You’ll see the coincidence if you scroll down to the previous post and read it… I highly recommend doing so. In managing ourselves, which Brian Wang taught, there was so much information discussed. The main and longest point was the “killer P’s”. These included wanting pity for having so much to do, pats on the back, people pleasing, and pride. Adam Martin led the class in managing money on Wednesday. This was a much shorter recap of high school economics, basically. He talked about credit, how to use it safely and wisely, banking, debt, and how to manage the money you have in a budget. The safest thing to do is to live below your means, at the most spending 80% of your monthly income on yourself and necessities. The other 20% should be split between tithing and saving. Thursday, we heard about managing time from Adam Donyes. He told us how much time we waste on things like social media, television, and….. video games. Yup. We get angry at people who waste our time, yet on things like these we waste literal years! We have tons of time in between everything else on our schedule that we waste over and over again. Time we could spend reading a valuable book, i.e. the bible, or listening to a good commentary. We also waste time watching pointless shows, movies, and endless commercials. Literally, years;  yet we claim not to have enough time to have quiet time, get homework done, or get things done. We make time for things that are important to us. This is a pretty easy way to see where your priorities lie without going on a soul searching walk along the beach, skipping stones every few minutes. Valuable life lessons are the daily norm here at Link Year. And that concludes my time here with you guys, until next week, I’m learning and praying! Later!

Stressful, Tiring Week...

Okay, forgive me, but I’m gonna go off the beaten path and start by saying I love living here. The things we get to do living in such a wonderful place, like midnight Capture the Flag, walks along the beach (lake shore) and through the forest, are amazing and make me so grateful to be here. That’s all. Okay, the other Links aren’t bad to be around. On to TGIF! Last Friday we went to some place (I can’t remember the name) and we got to bike through this ginormous park. So I can truthfully say that I’ve biked from Missouri to Arkansas. It was awesome, even if I don’t sound like it. I’m sure I do, though! I dived into a cave, watched others jump a stream, and ate apples. Three, to be exact. Later we ate at the best place in Branson, on a blueberry farm. The weekend was really fun, doing the activities mentioned at the beginning, although I was left a bit sore and a lot more like Link Selby with a bum arm. Monday we learned about Secular Humanism, as Donyes unpacked that for us. Humanism is the belief that humanity is the highest of all beings and that science and reason can answer any question presented. The two religious affiliations that are included in Secular Humanism are Agnostics and Atheists. Agnostics claim that there simply not enough evidence to prove the existence of a god, all-powerful or otherwise. Atheists fully deny the existence of such a being, and believe everything that happens is pure chance. On Tuesday, Karren Chancey came and talked to us about the bible! We learned the chronology involved and the order of the events in the bible, and the major locations of these happenings. On Wednesday, Donyes talked to us about dating. Basically, the world is doing everything wrong, and the standards of a “good” dating relationship from the world’s perspective are nowhere near God’s standards, and Christians should not conform. Extremely beneficial, and possibly one of the most relevant talks yet. To accompany him, Joe White talked about guarding our hearts from the world and its snares. If we allow the world in, there can be no room for Jesus. I also won a really soft Kanakuk blanket that day. Thursday, Ward Weibe walked us through the gospels, but also went really deep into how the entire bible is the story of God and His glory. It was great, except I was (regrettably) so tired that I couldn’t take decent notes. I’m learning to manage time more wisely, though. We’ll see how well I do by next week! Later!

I'm Stuck On A Title...

It’s the end of the third week, meaning the thrill of the honeymoon stage is all but gone, along with my excitement and non-writer's block for these blogs. But I will press on, and help make the awesomeness that is Link Year better understood by those that actually read these. So last Friday, T.G.I.F was paintball! We had a huge amount of fun firing paintballs at each other (like it’s not a daily thing… [fun I mean, Link Year does not condone violence of any sort, especially with guns]). On Monday we started our accountability groups, which are going to be great for everyone obviously, but I really expect this group to be extremely beneficial, and I hope to be able to call these guys and get help well into the future. We also started our small groups, which is a separate thing. A group of a few more guys than in the accountability groups, but also a mentor, who will hang out with everyone in the small group one on one at least once a week. I was lucky enough to be in Adam Martin’s small group, and am really looking forward to one on one time with him. Since I’m already talking about all the groups we started this week, I’ll jump to Thursday and tell about the mentor from Kanakuk Institute we all get as well. The purpose of this relationship is to condition us into seeking out mentors actively, and so we will have to wake up at 6:30 to meet with those guys. Going back to Tuesday, Adam Donyes told us all we needed to know about the Seven Pillars of Link Year and everything we’d need to write our papers over them. On Wednesday, a very nice woman by the name of Amy Simmons came and spoke to us about her life and testimony, including meeting the President of the United States. She spoke on the importance of the Lord’s plan above our own, and that no matter how insignificant something may seem, He could have such a great plan for it with a huge impact on others. On Thursday, we learned about all the benefits of the software Logos. It is a bible study tool that gives commentaries on scripture and also the original Greek and Hebrew words to allow the user to infer their own translations and study the Bible inductively. Also on Tuesday, I was called to answer an apologetical question. I was asked if it is a sin to watch “R” rated movies. The answer is that it’s not a sin because ratings are based on the standards of humans. A content rating is not God’s standard. So the sin would be in either watching a movie full of cussing if you know that it is going to make you want to cuss, or causing a believer less well-versed than you to believe things like are okay if they aren’t. When going to see a movie, don’t judge it by the rating, but by its content, almost the same as you would a person. Except you don’t need to study a movie in-depth to decide if the themes are not God-glorifying.

In the words of Tanya, be awesome, love Jesus.

 Later.

Getting The Hang of Things!

It’s truly amazing how much can happen in a single week! Since these are due on Thursday, the really fun things will be the first I talk about. TGIF, or Thank God It’s Friday. Always a surprise to us students, the first one was a real treat. We got to play The Hunger Games. I cannot express with words how excited I was as my fellow Link (everyone’s name is preceded by Link now) Maria and I stood on our circle, devising a strategy for getting that pool noodle, to me the most efficient weapon in the cornucopia. Somehow, we stood at the center, still alive and surrounded by ammunition of water guns, balloons, and even survival packs in case we needed to run. Long story short, we would’ve won the game if we were playing king of the hill. But whatevs, we had fun and dominated for a while. Southpaw!!! After a pretty fun weekend, involving breaking a washing machine and losing $2 in it, and swing dancing, Monday we had our first Bible Study and Worldview study. The next few, Islam, Deism, etc, are going to be so great and beneficial. We will learn about the central doctrines of these various religions and compare them to our own. I expect this to be a great thing every time, although the things we went over this week about Christianity I already knew. It’s always good to recap, though. Which brings us to the speaker for this week (speakers generally come into our class Tues-Thurs). Late last week I was studying for our first New City Catechism quiz, a thing every Wednesday, and I noted that one of the answers was that nothing happens except through the Lord. I was deeply shaken by this, as I’ve recently been making a case on a Youtube video entitled “Black Christians=Uncle Toms”. After reading the statement that nothing happens except through Him, I thought, “This can’t be true, why would He actively will the enslavement and torture of millions? And to take it a few steps further, why would He actively send people to Hell?” After talking through these things with our Link Selby, I was helped to realized that God’s grace is a gift that not everyone is given, simply because. His grace is sufficient to save everyone, however, some are destined to never receive it. I was just getting used to this when D.A Horton, the executive director at ReachLife Ministries. He spoke on a lot of different things, but this is only a two page blog, not an in-depth analysis of the Bible. So I’m going to say that when he talked about this very thing, I was wrestling with, I knew that God was helping me understand a bit better. He has a hand in everything, remember? D.A. went on for a while about this and the main point was that although some see it as God willing people to eternal suffering, it is more likely that a loving, omniscient God knows who would’ve rejected Him anyway, and has made things a bit easier for the rest of us. He also talked about the need for ministry. Everywhere, and not just the far away part of everywere, but maybe your own home, your neighborhood, or even within some churches! He knew a kid that had gone to church often and didn’t know the message of man’s sin and separation! My final piece of information being moved is the idea of demons possessing people, ghosts haunting people, and even the friendly grandma wanting her children to receive a message. We learned that biblically, ghosts don’t exist and dead people certainly don’t come back to talk to us, as shown by the seer’s surprise when Saul asked to speak to a dead Samuel and he actually appeared by God’s will. Demons, however are fallen angels and do exist. They serve our enemy, the one who hates us, Satan. But because of the Holy Spirit’s influence and presence, believers are not susceptible to attacks from demons. After D.A. left, the apologetical questions started and Link Subers was asked why there are innocent people suffering when God can stop it all? This rung a bell with me, as my brother asked the same question this past summer. Also I had a similar question, and I was most prepared for that one. Now I won’t be asked that one next week, unfortunately. But anyways, the question is flawed. No one is innocent. We are all vile, disgusting creatures with horrendous thoughts, and sometimes actions. These are simply the norm here on Earth and are socially acceptable and even encouraged by our governments. But even though we are not innocent, doesn’t God love us enough to stop all the suffering? Yes, but because of our sin, we are pushing away His helping hand, and things are considered sin for a reason. They bring bad with them! Premarital sex can lead to unwanted pregnancy, infidelity can lead to disease, stealing and murdering have the obvious effects as well as causing distress to other people. No sin can cause good, as well as no bad can come from God. I’ve also been thinking pretty deeply about this. What stops Hell from being a sinner’s paradise? The small, often overlooked fact that without the Lord’s influence, we would not take pleasure in anything. As a small treat for the class on Tuesday, Tedashii came along with his wife and spoke to us for a while, but I couldn’t stay for the Apologetics or picture time because of lunch duty. Also, on Monday, I played sports and even enjoyed myself. I also began working out seriously this week, and now my body hates me. These last few are my random thoughts over the week, and I think I may make that a regular thing. A small look into the wonderful, messy, cluttered place that is my mind.

Until next Thursday, Jamari ;)

P.S. Everyone else's blogs are super organized and mine are all blah and random.
P.P.S. I wanna tell so much more stuff!!!!! But don't wanna be boring and overly random.
EDIT: I called the speaker D.A. Hunter, it's Horton.... awkward...