The "What Now?"

So now that I am all done with my undergrad, I cannot help but dream about the future.  I know ultimately that our future is in the hands of God, but I can't help my wishful thinking. :) So I thought I would let you in on my daydreaming!

As I stated in my previous posting, Riley and I are staying in St. Cloud for the next year or so.  He is looking for a job right now utilizing his Psychology or Biology degree (so please pray for that!) and I'm picking up more hours at the salon while starting a new internship with Youth for Christ for the summer.  This summer will fly by because I will be helping out with three of their camps: Leadership Quest (Northern MN), Kickin' It Cloudside (St. Cloud), and Rock Outdoor Adventure Camp (Wyoming).  As for this fall, YFC is hoping to be able to hire me on part-time (15 hrs/wk) as the BRAID Ministry Site Coordinator.  Even if they cannot pay me, I'll still coordinate and volunteer my time; the young ladies I work with are treasures and hold an important place in my heart.  I’ll also continue to work at the salon because I enjoy the women I work with, it pays the bills, and I want to keep my cosmetology license active for as long as I can.  While we are here in St. Cloud for this year, Riley is going to be trying to get some more experience/volunteering in to build up his application and resume.

Starting in August, Ri will be applying to Physical Therapy School.  He is looking at two schools in Colorado, two in Utah, and the U of MN.  If you have not noticed my recent postings about Denver on Facebook, it is our number one choice for relocation next year.  There is just so much to do out there and the city is full of opportunity for the both of us.  Denver is simply ideal. J 

As for myself, I am extremely interested in furthering my education in Theology, particularly in Scripture and Interfaith/Interdenominational Relationships.  I want to eventually get my Master and Doctorate and teach on a college level.  Here are just a few of the graduate schools I’m looking at:

- Regent University: School of Divinity

- Denver Seminary

- Liberty University

- Campbellsville University

- Southwestern College

- Luther Rice Seminary

All of these schools offer online Masters degrees in Theology and Divinity, which is something that I prefer.  Though I would love to get back into the classroom setting, online schooling would work best if I want to continue to work full-time.  I obviously do not plan on going back for my Masters within the next five years, but I have an ever-growing book list that will continue to engage me in Theology (My poor little book shelf is starting to overflow!).  I am also currently mapping out a reading/study plan for the entire Bible, which I am very excited about.  So though I may not be in formal schooling for a while, I will be continuing my education on my own :) 

All in all, this is what I dream about on a regular basis! What God has in store for my fantastic husband and me really excites me for our future adventures.  I thank you all for your continual prayers and thoughts.    

-Pippa Q.

A Little Poetry...

    Well, I am finally back! It has been way too long since I last posted and I apologize for that! Its the last week of classes and finals are looming over my head.  I will post later about a really cool answer to prayer that happened over Thanksgiving, but for now, I wanted to share a couple poems I wrote for my Christian Suffering and Healing class.  The first poem, you may recognize this Biblical story :) It is found in the Gospels: Mark 5:24-32, Luke 8:42-47, Matthew 9:18-22.  The second poem is from C. S. Lewis' book A Grief Observed and in this book he is reflecting and writing about his grief process after losing his wife to cancer.  Both poems are an expression of using reflective imagination to draw deep meaning from each text.  I hope you enjoy!

Poem #1:

No one. 

No one has been able to fix me.
For I have sought out many, but all failed to heal;
The true issue never to be revealed. 

As I painfully carry my bleeding body full of sores,
Through a sea of people who care for me no more,
I see the One, and His essence calls out to mine.
Who is this man? It is Him I must find!

If only I can touch Him, touch the fringe of His robe,
I know my pain and illness will forth go.
As I push hastily through the crowd,
A new determination I am endowed.
Closer and closer I draw to my goal,
My faith ever growing deep within my soul.

Finally, He is within my arms reach,
And with one last push, I take a fateful leap.
As I fall to the dirt road,
My fingers gently graze His weathered robe.

 

Instantly, my entire being was made clean,
As the man turned and asked, “Who touched me?”
While He turned, His eyes gracefully met mine,
And in that moment I knew I was in the presence of the Divine.
Scared and trembling I admitted, “Lord, I touched you … It was me.”
But He lovingly replied, “Take heart, my daughter, your faith has made you clean.”

Who would have known that after many years of pain and strife,
That touching this man’s clothes would give me new life.
The old is gone, and the new is come.
Without a doubt, my old life is done.
I will live my life proclaiming His name
Because surely I met the one true God today.

Poem #2:

Hello? You there? Are You even around?

Ever since You took her from me,
You annoyingly cannot be found. 
She and I were one flesh.  That was who we were.
But what am I now, God, without her?


I have all these feelings deep within me.
Perhaps You know them,
Grief, confusion, pain, anger, misery?
But what do You care, God! You aren’t even listening.
For what am I now, but half a man who is suffering. 

As the days drag on without answers … and without her,
My emotions and feelings begin to change and differ. 
Numbness and fear disorient my being,
For the God I once knew, I am no longer seeing.
 

As I come to the bottom of this dark valley,

I turn to the empty pedestal where God once sat so highly.
I cry out with one final petty lament,
“WHERE ARE YOU, GOD?! Your absence I resent!”
And with that last word, I turned back around,
To face the Lord I so eagerly longed to have found.

Nothing was said.  But we simply began to walk,
And in our silence, our hearts began to talk.
As we continued our journey together,
My heart soon became lighter and lighter.
In those moments I had spent with Him,
A new revelation did begin.

As I recalled and reminisced, 
I realized that I had not been alone through all of this,
My emotions were real, though at times vain and fickle.
But I now understood that I’d never be given more than I could handle.
And with this realization, I turned to the God-man beside me,
To only see one pair of foot prints lay behind me. 
But in those footprints I finally did see,
That God had faithfully brought me out of Death Valley.

     ***God has so wonderfully created us with the imagination and I hope that you can utilize these poems in a relflective manner. ***

Peace and Many Blessings,

Pip Q.