IN progress

Once again . . .long time since I've blogged. Short update . . I'm at school, working at Cracker Barrel, and leading a small group for Encounter.

Something cool I did this summer:

What I've been listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhRyC3coZl4&feature=related

What I've been eating:

How I've been sleeping: enough

How much I've been eating: enough

How much I've been running: enough

Well I have not posted for awhile, So I figured I would take a break from my INSANE busy day, and blog from my devo time. Blogging makes me nervous because I always feel like I have to have some long, eloquent exhortation to the "masses." Falso.

Ahh I feel like that has been the theme of my life lately: Lys, you really do not rule the world. The purpose of this life is not that Christ would make much of me but that I would make much of Him. This week in small groups, we are discussing 1 Samuel 1. When we discussed the chapter at leadership last night, it was like a cup of cold water to my thirsty soul. His word is so fresh, and I have been dehydrated lately.

Check out 1 Samuel 1, it's a pretty quick read. Essentially, we have Hannah who is married to Elkanah . . . who is also married to Peninnah. Hannah was infertile while Peninnah was not. They kind of had the whole Rachel and Leah thing going on here with Elkanah loving Hannah more.

Every year, they went to get their "church duty" in . . . which was way messed up by the way. The leadership and the church as a whole were pretty wacked out (see chapter 2). Hannah probably just LOVED those visits . . . Peninnah being a total brat and taunting you, a church that's falling apart, and a lovely husband who tries to make it better by saying "Hey you've got me, what else could you want? (vs8) Obviously this is every girl's dream.

Let's park it on that principle for a bit. The first observation I made about Hannah is that she's just a normal girl. She's got desires and wants just like all of us. Are they bad? Not necessarily . . .but lets look further to see what she does.

They go up to worship for their yearly routine. The "worship" was over and they went out to party. We can't be 100% sure, but verse 9 may imply that Peninnah and Elkanah were religiously PLASTERED. Hannah of course was very amused. Instead of drowning in her sorrows, she took them somewhere . . .to the LORD.

She wandered into the temple "after hours" and WEPT bitterly. This girl was desperate. This girl wanted answers. This girl wanted a child. Eli the priest saw her come in and thought she was one of the crazy drunk ladies. Nope, just desperate enough that she's not afraid to be honest.