Festival of the King and a Big Prayer

So tonight I went to my Church's Christmas production, "Festival of the King." Wow. It was VERY different from any Christmas production I have ever seen before. I hope Mimi, Tim, and Chris enjoyed it. I'm so glad I got to share it with them! It wouldn't do it justice for me to try to retell it, but I at least want to give you one mental picture. Imagine the setting of The Lion King. (Or if for some reason you haven't seen that, imagine African savannah.) Now imagine a large native tribe, around a blazing fire, with work-worn earth-tone garments and bare feet and occasional brightly colored accents. Everyone has come together as one and in unity. Why? Because the King, their Savior from themselves and the darkness of the world, is coming! And unlike other Kings, he lays aside his lofty stature to become one of them. What kind of King does that? This King. Because his first and greatest love is His people. Spears and torches and leafy long tree branches in hand, the people all gather and DANCE. They lift their voices in shouts and song. Young and old rejoice in community with reckless abandon. It nearly made me cry, as I thought "this must be what it was like when David danced before the Lord..." (2 Samuel 6:14) There is no snow, no decorated tree, no wrapping paper, no jolly man in a red suit - just The Festival of the King! He came for them, He came for you, He came for me, He came for all. Oh, that we might find our own way to dance for Him with holy, shameless abandon this Christmas! I know I want to!

A few days ago, Tim informed me of an article about the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1657942,00.html This is NOT a friendly review. In fact, it nearly broke my heart to read it. Not because it tears apart a movie I'm really looking forward to seeing, and not because it decries a beloved book - because it speaks from an angryheart that totally misses the point of Jesus Christ. Here is one of the most soul-sinking parts:
"Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to? Poor child Edmund, to blame for everything, must bear the full weight of a guilt only Christians know how to inflict, with a twisted knife to the heart."
I know this is a more common feeling about Christianity than most would like to admit. After all, how can one avoid the idea that guilt is inherent in Christianity, with it's list of "dos and don'ts" that so many Christians or psuedo-Christians shove at people? However, I think guilt is necessary - it helps you know you goofed up. Then, you can make change for the better and get past it. Now, do I think I should berate and punish myself and think I'm horrible for every little slip-up til I'm lost in a sea of guilt over the pain I'm causing Christ?! Of course not! That would be missing the entire purpose of Christ. He came to bring a means of FORGIVENESS!! No, we did not ask Him to. But He did it anyway! "Greater love has no man that this, that he would lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Isn't that something society, even a horribly secular one, looks upon with approval and joy? Don't we all love the story of people giving their all to unselfishly help others?! Why, then, should Christ's sacrifice be "repugnant"? Here's another key quote from the article (Aslan = the Christ/God character of Narnia):
"(Aslan's) divine presence is a way to avoid humans taking responsibility for everything here and now on earth, where no one is watching, no one is guiding, no one is judging and there is no other place yet to come. Without an Aslan, there is no one here but ourselves to suffer for our sins, no one to redeem us but ourselves: we are obliged to settle our own disputes and do what we can. We need no holy guide books, only a very human moral compass. Everyone needs ghosts, spirits, marvels and poetic imaginings, but we can do well without an Aslan."
For one, isn't a part of feeling guilty taking responsibility for what you've done? Secondly, God is ALWAYS watching! He's desperately wanting to be involved in our lives! Also, sin rarely "just affects me" and we don't HAVE to suffer from it (although life will still have its trials) if Christ has forgiven us. He didn't want us to be guilty anymore - He loves us too much! That's why he came and paid the ultimate price for us all. Also, we can't redeem ourselves, at least not in God's eyes. Only Christ can do that, if we let Him. Our human moral compass is completely broken, so Christ gives us His Spirit instead - its aim is true. That is what's really at work when we learn right from wrong. Nobody, EVER, can "do well" without "Aslan," or His Holy guide book - at least not at the things that matter, and matter eternally! It is my prayer that somehow this Christmas more people will come to realize all this and take a step towards the greatest Love known to mankind.

Alberta Clipper and a New Battery

For those who don't know what and Alberta Clipper is, it's some meteorology name for "Ridiculously Cold Weather Pattern." We've got one of those going through right now. Many of our classrooms have been 65 degrees or so. Cold enough to be quite distracting! So I have decided it snows in Iowa even when it's "too cold to snow". Not that I mind, as long as roads are okay. We've gotten at least 10 inches in the past week. It looks really beautiful! Tonight's fresh inch was especially sparkly in the lights of Ames.

So on Tuesday last week my car battery died again. (It also did this the previous Saturday at Ryan's.) This was very bad timing, as it was cold, snowy, and I had an exam to cram for. I bummed rides from my beloved roomie and dear classmates for a few days, then took the battery in to Napa. No surprise, it had a bad core. Never buying a Springfield Battery (aka cheap-inator) product again - it was supposed to last at least 6 more months. It was amusing explaining to the Napa guy that it was from Springfield, IL 'cause he'd "never seen this kind of battery before." So far so good with the new battery. Dad seemed shocked that me and Chris, a couple of girls (GASP!) could handle removal and installation of a new battery by ourselves. Luckily nobody got fried. ;-) Many thanks to Chris for her assistance.

I've learned something. Piano music while in the restroom is soothing. Blue Man Lobby Bathroom song while in the restroom is amusing. Random other person in there humming while in the bathroom is CREEPY!

The end is near - finals are fast approaching. Here's what I'm lookin' at (and why this won't be super-updated for awhile):
Wed 12/7 - Micro lab final
Th 12/8 - Case Studies final
Mon 12/12 - Parasitology final
Wed 12/14 - Pathology final and Mimi's birthday
Th 12/15 - The much-dreaded Micro lecture final

Still no grades on the last Parasit exam or Case Studies quiz. Today's path quiz was so-so. If things go as they have been the rest of the semester, I should be pleased with my GPA. However, Micro has been forecast (by the instructor) to go poorly for all... It's a lot of credits... Needing major prayers for that class especially. Thy will be done!

Then it's IL for the holidays!! Hooray!!