Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Commencement of Holy Week

Yet another wonderful weekend!

Relay for Life was Friday night and it was SO much fun. The Social Work Club raised about $400 for the American Cancer Society. We also ended up winning the "Best Campsite" award for our Castaway themed booth. I was so proud of Amy Brookshire and all of the hard work she put into the booth. Really, it was a joint effort from everyone on our team. We also had a blast dancing to a bunch of old school music, which reminded me of middle school... the Macarena, Cupid Shuffle, and Electric Slide. I have to say that the Campbell Social Work majors are something else. :)



Then Saturday we had the day of service on campus called Operation Inasmuch. I was a team leader and my team made a meal for the Moody family. Cali hasn't been doing well this week, and they were up at Duke all weekend, but it was great that they were able to come down to Campbell for Relay for Life. I was able to deliver it tonight to Chad, and he had Bella and Jazlyn with him at the house. I just love those girls. I noticed that Bella's manners were exceptional tonight, and I commented on that. Chad said "Diane, I don't care what your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, or best friend tell you. When you have kids of your own, make sure you teach them manners and have a lot of expectations for them at a young age. People may think you are being too harsh, but you will be thankful as they get older." I thought that was pretty sound advice-I might just have to use it. :) He has three amazing little girls, so he certainly knows what he is talking about. I really need to write down all of the things I have learned from Chad and Sara and other married couples like them in my journal-I don't want to forget any of it. The Moody's are such a precious family and I am so thankful to know them.



So begins my favorite week of the year... Holy Week. I don't know what it is about this week, but I just love celebrating the days leading up to Easter. Lent, Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday... I love it all! It's so cool to transition from a time of fasting to a time of commemorating the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. It's so cool to celebrate the incarnation. I haven't always been diligent in cherishing every day of the week, but it is a week that I always want to emphasize and honor. Easter Sunday is also the day my wonderful grandfather, Daddy Mac, passed away. Easter was always his favorite holiday, which was fitting because he was a Methodist minister and loved celebrating and preaching on Easter. I am definitely looking forward to spending time with my family next weekend. Hopefully I can go to the Maundy Thursday service at Grace too.

This morning the service at Grace was absolutely amazing. Pastor Brad's sermon was about tongues and the Holy Spirit's work in Acts, from Acts 2. He referred to the Pentecost, when people were sharing he gospel in a tongue that couldn't be understood. The Holy Spirit came in very obvious power, and God wanted to establish a new covenant where salvation does no depend on the law but rather believing in Jesus. The manifestation of tongues in the Holy Spirit is confirmation that Jesus is the only way, and the Holy Spirit's role is to magnify Jesus. Just like God provided a way for salvation to come to the Gentiles, God uses the gift of tongues today for the building up of His people. Brad brought it all back to the importance of a personal relationship with God, which is available to all who trust Jesus as their Savior. I really want to study more Scripture that talks about this idea. It is a lot to take in in one day, and is a bit of a mystery to me, just like the Trinity. I thrive on that kind of mystery. It truly is fascinating, and something I don't think about enough.

After church, I had some friends over to the apartment for lunch. Luke and his brother Daniel and sister Laura came, as did Rachael Traylor and Kiki Long. We made a potluck style lunch of Spanish rice, fruit, guacamole and chips, hummus and pita chips, corn, eggs, salad, biscuits, and a few other random things that we scrounged up. Very similar to the time the New York City team came over for a breakfast for dinner meal. It was delicious, and so good to sit in a circle and talk about random things while eating random items of food. I will never forget that memory.

This afternoon I had coffee with Alexa. It was so so good to talk-I haven't hung out with her in ages! She is one of those friends that I could go months without talking to and we will always be able to pick up where we left off. We had such a great conversation about relationships and things we have learned from them, and we talked about what God is doing in our lives and how He has changed our focus, and how He has closed some doors but opened other ones. For example, I have recently been thinking a lot about doing hospital chaplaincy, which is something I never would have considered a few years ago. I am not a medically minded person, and I have never thought about working in a hospital. However, I have really been praying about it for the past several weeks, and wondering if it's something I should pursue. Also, Alexa said that she has recently decided that she wants to pursue pre-medicine and be a pediatrician, and that she is going to do ROTC. I can so see her doing that-she is so great with kids! I was just so happy to hear that God has placed that on her heart and that she is following His leading. It was just so good to catch up with her and hear about all of he things that have been going on in her life.

Tomorrow I will be heading up to Chapel Hill for a Social Work Career Day with my class. Should be fun! Maybe I will be able to network with some potential employers for the future. And maybe I will even get over my dislike of Tarheels. Hehe just kidding folks. :)

Alright, I have rambled on enough for the night... just had some things to share with anyone who cares to read! :)

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