Here on a work visa/ and that's how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air

For what I'm about to write, I must give credit where credit is due: our speaker at Fall Conference.

Exodus tells the story of our freedom in Christ. We're no longer enslaved by our sin. Freedom is a compelling story; so is what we do with that freedom we never deserved in the first place.

People leave their own countries and go to others for many reasons, so there are many visas to fit those reasons. Some travel with a tourist visa, intending to visit a place for a few weeks and then head home. Some travel with a student visa, intending to learn and gain some knowledge and then head home. Still others travel with a work visa, wanting to serve their new country with their knowledge and ability.

Freedom in Christ isn't a tourist visa; it isn't a license to do anything we want. Freedom in Christ isn't a student visa; it isn't a culture we take from and learn from. Freedom in Christ is a work visa. We show up, armed with the Word, to change the world, to serve the world, to love with our arms outstretched.

Big orders. But then again, we have a big God.

***

There are many things I'll miss once I graduate from college. Thing #1: Sing-a-longs.

This weekend, at Fall Conference, I joined some of my best friends in the Fresh Prince theme song, Under the Sea, Wonderwall, Don't Stop Believing, Iris, I'm Yours, MMMBop (no consensus on the actual words), the Brady Bunch theme song, Summer Nights, songs from Rent, about 12 Backstreet Boys songs . . . the list goes on.

I can't remember all the words. I can't remember all the songs. But I remember the people I sang them with. This is the kind of stuff I'll miss next year.

You'd probably do better after a great night's sleep.

Lunesta wants my business.

It's a quarter to one, and I'm scrolling around the homepage on MSNBC. News called; I answered. After clicking on a link and getting through the first paragraph of yet another Obama-McCain story, I notice an ad at the top of the page. It is a color matching game -- I don't say no to a good color matching and order game.

It was kind of like Simon . . . click on the colors in the order they appear. Each sequence got tougher. Just as I reached the lofty score of 5, the game announced how crummy I'd done.

"GAME OVER. You'd probably do better after a great night's sleep."

The game's sponsor? Lunesta. Display ads for sleep aids in the middle of the night, and you're likely to find insomniac customers. Now that's target marketing.

Done with that

I walked through the old newsroom today on my way to a professor's office. (I'll leave the newspaper nameless, on the off chance that someone stumbles onto my blog and thinks I'm biting the hand that feeds me.) This foreign feeling of excitement rushed over me, a feeling of excitement and joy that I'm no longer held captive.

I wanted to cartwheel down the hall. Almost did.

Hitting refresh

I was reading my church's blog today and a blogger asked this. Funny. It is the same question I'm asking these days:

In today's post I just want to ask one simple question and hear what you have to say:

What do you do to hit "refresh."

I am not talking about the left click a the top of your browser.

What do you do?

Segway

When we leave a place, literally or figuratively, physically or mentally, the ends may not be tied up in neat, Martha Stewart-esque bows. Life isn't neat. Life isn't tidy. But God's plan is good; God's path is meaningful. We may not know where we're going, but God does, and we have a reason to be there, every step of the way.

My summer reading list

I'm jumping on the post-your-summer-reading-list-on-your-blog bandwagon. I loved reading before college, and now it is time to remember that I loved it. Everything on my list has been recommended in some way, by people from church, friends from my Bible study, executives from guest lectures and titles I've noticed on bookshelves of those I admire.

Currently reading:

The Reason for God, by Tim Keller 

Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller

Want to read:

Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing, by C.J. Mahaney

The Beatles: The Biography, by Bob Spitz

The Gospel According to the Beatles, by Steve Turner

Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, by David Brooks

Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids, by Madeline Levine

Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam

I'm still taking recommendations, and I'm still going to add to the list. I can't wait.

Addicted to busy

Yesterday afternoon I chatted with Ross for about an hour before class. It was a scary conversation; it started with me asking about a Sam's Club card and it ended with us talking about what it means to have an addiction.

We joke about it all the time. We say we're addicted to chocolate, addicted to Facebook, addicted to The Office. And it's funny. I joke about my addictions to people, to activities, to busy-ness.

That's where the problem comes in. It really is not a joke anymore.

Addiction means something when it is associated with a negative thing -- with alcohol, cigarettes, overeating, porn, undereating, overspending, compulsive exercise, drugs. Addiction means nothing when it is associated with a positive thing -- school, friends, volunteering, church. Being busy and loving people and getting involved are good things. But I've gotten carried away. I have this dislike for being alone, this disinterest in anything that takes longer than an hour, this fear of my life post-Mizzou, when the activities become nothing more than line items on a resume.

I need Jesus, but I'm too afraid to give Him the alone time that prayer requires. I've avoided personal prayer time by praying for others in groups, by reading the Bible together. I tried yesterday to be with God, in silence, in a room all by myself, for just five minutes. I picked up my cell phone and called a friend instead.

Yuck. I don't like who I've become. The state of my heart is questionable, and I'm totally uncomfortable with that.

Doing hard things

I was reading this article and I got excited -- and then I got to thinking. When was the last time I did something hard?

When was the last time I did something difficult, something challenging, something that grew and stretched my faith in a big way? When was the last time I allowed God to totally morph my life?

"We can't just go on being ordinary, decent Christians, giving God part of our lives while holding back the rest. Either we are hatched and learn to fly or we are a dud that will soon start to sink. The ironic thing here is that although the hardest thing -- the almost impossible thing -- is to hand over our whole selves to Christ, it is far easier than what we are trying to do instead."

- Do Hard Things, Alex and Brett Harris

Any advice? How do we, on a daily basis, do these hard things the Bible commands us to do?

Strategic placement

Tonight, after copy editing, I grabbed some orange juice from the fridge and I said hi to this sweet freshman girl. I don't know her name; I felt bad, but I struck up a conversation anyway. We talked about my Beads for Life necklace and how we need to sign up for bag lunches. She signed up for two -- brilliant. I've lived here for two years now and I have yet to figure that out.

She signed me up for a lunch, asking, "Is it Sarah with or without an H?" An H, I said. She also wrote my last name and spelled it perfectly.

I didn't even know her name.

After I figured out who she was, I sent her a Facebook message shortly, saying how fun it was to bump into her. I'm always coming and going, going and coming, and rarely do we have the chance to have a conversation that extends past "hey-howareyou?-goodyou?-good." 

She replied back and said she really looks up to me.

She really looks up to me, but I've never shared coffee with this girl, never hung out with her, never even bothered to learn her name. And she looks up to me. I'm blessed. It makes me wonder how many other people look up to us without us even knowing. It brings real significance to this life we live. 

In my marketing classes, we talk about strategic placement, putting ads in places where the target market is most likely to see them. A lipstick ad in Glamour, a cologne ad in GQ. God does that in our lives. He strategically places each person we meet. 

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." Psalm 95:1-5

An excuse to use the bullets button on Blogger.

It was quite a weekend . . .

• A conversation with an MU alum gave me the best answer ever to the question "What are you doing after graduation?" I've already used it twice.
• God used my lateness for good things on Friday afternoon. I'm grateful I arrived at Jesse Hall at 1:02; I was able to see my parents to their seats, and I was happy they were okay. I enjoyed the afternoon.
• I'm blessed with amazing friends. The irony is striking. I was recognized for doing so many things, so many things less significant than love. These things take me away from the very people who showed up to watch me get recognized. I'm the receiver of so much selfless love. It really is Christ in action.
• My parents were impressed at my $230/month place. I'm getting a deal. I'm grateful.
• How do you find the right balance between weak love and tough love? It is probably in this thing called the Gospel . . .