Not to us, not to us

“We are broken we are bitter/ We’re the problem we’re the politicians

Politicians… Politicians…”

Do you ever wake up with one of those loud songs you know stuck in your head? Probably not the best way to start a peaceful day, but that little voice has been shouting in my head for hours. Hey maybe that’s part of the reason that I’m up and working on emails and blogs already.

First, big news. Today is the second day of Presbytery, which is a meeting of all the pastors from all the churches in our slice of the RPCNA. This is the time that they discuss policies and hear reports and also approve the work of men who are pastoral interns, like Dad. He’s been working on the first stage of pastorship: licensure to preach and he had five tests (some verbal, some written, and one huge term paper) in this stage. This time he was supposed to bring that last test before the Presbytery and even perhaps begin the next test for licensure to receive a call. We just got word that his last test was completed for the first stage. Dad is licensed to preach!!! Woooooo! He’s a licensed preacher of the RP church!! Huzzah! God was willing and He made it happen!!

Whew! Ok those who read this post Friday morning be praying for him and thanking the Lord for this big step.

The rest of my news is small compared to that, but I’m pretty excited about this weekend. At IUK one of my friends is a girl named Erin who has taken Spanish with me for three semesters. I got to know her and her fiancée early on and we’ve become pretty tight nit. Anywho, I’ve invited them to visit our church several times by now, especially since they live in Marion along with about half of our congregation who commute. The whole catch is that they are Wesleyans, and if your now anything about Armenian Westlyans and Calvinist RP’ers (Reformed Presbyterians) you can see that there’d be some problems there.

But alright, I’ve also been wanting to visit more RP college groups in our area, and having been down to Indianapolis several times over the summer and school year (you guys rock!!) I thought about visiting the Lafayette RPC, which is about the same distance away. This city is the stronghold of Purdue University, and though I will have to wear my IU colors incognito*, I have really wanted to visit there because I know they have a strong group of Christian students. Well I’m finally going to be able to make the Fireside chat this Sunday evening, so I’m really looking forward to that. And Erin has agreed to come with me! Yippee!! (not only will I have a friend while in enemy territory {jk!}, but a riding buddy really makes it easier for me to go at all)

But the greatest part is that before we truck over there, she thought it best to come to the evening service in Kokomo so that we can leave straight from there. I shook my head this morning as I realized that this was a major answer to many weeks of prayer. I haven’t prayed in the way that I ought to have, but wow, God is faithful. I was just concentrating on working out the trip to Lafayette but here was my big chance to invite her to an actual worship service, and I didn’t even think about it – Mom had to suggest it. This whole thing came together when I wasn't looking for it at all. So you can be praying for her heart while in Kokomo, and for both of us in Lafayette with a group of mostly strangers. Oh, and pray that we get there safe and sound, I’ve never been to this city before and we’ll have to find everything in the dark!

::sigh:: The sun is out and I’ve been looking at a screen all morning. Sounds like a good time to break off and rake leaves. Watch for another post this evening with the continued adventures of Canny. There’s more to tell!

* This may be a good time to clarify my stance on the entire IU/Purdue question. Obviously, for a Hoosier who has spent all their days contemplating this aspect of their future, there can be party lines and wild color waving, and all of it matters. But for a Texan who could never even enter the Aggie v. UT debate with much fervor, for better or for worse, it all means peanuts. I landed in Indiana and find myself in a city called Kokomo which happens to have a university branch three miles down the road. Where am I going to school? Where I get both inexpensive education and fresh bran muffins every day. Now that I do go to IU however, I feel responsible to side with my own colors and staunchly say that IU is the best place in the world. With me, however, this never conflicts with the fact that some of my favorite people are die hard Boilermakers, had I settled in Lafayette I would have just as quickly thrown my cap in there. For now all alliances are tempered by particular situation, and living at home with those muffins sounds just fine to me.

P.P.S. The title was a reference to Psalm 115:1, but read it and keep going - it gets better