Jay Thiebaut

I don’t know if this is blogworthy…but it has been germinating in my head for the past few days and I am not sure of what to do with it.

A little bit about Jay Thiebaut…

As I ponder my future and look towards what I hope is a life in ministry. I cannot help thinking a bit about my father-who will always be one of the examples that I look to when I think of life in ministry.

Sometimes odd things trigger memories of him…or remind me of things that I thought long forgotten. Today, I received a wonder note from a friend that really blessed me and assured me that I have been able to bless her life as well…that made me think of Dad. It reminded me of all of the people that he managed to reach---all of the people who knew that God loved them because Pastor Jay so clearly translated that to them. I began to wonder how exactly he did that…what was his method?

After a few minutes, it hit me like a ton of butterflies…When he was at his best, my dad’s strength came from the fact that he ENJOYED people so very much! For some reason, people fascinated him, excited him and captivated his attention. THAT was what made Pastor Jay the person that he was.
His ability to enjoy people gave them a taste of what it meant to have God enjoy them.

Also when I look at my father…I cannot pretend that he did not have struggles as well. He put so much pressure on himself to be so impressive—so perfect, that I think he might never have known his greatest strength. He probably thought that it was somewhere in the midst of his many talents, abilities and desire to work hard. I believe that the harder he pushed himself-the more he expected from himself- the more he lost touch with the thing that God called him to do…simply LOVE people. Inspire them, get them excited, and show them what it means to live as liberated children of GOD!

Arbor Games Day

Let me tell you a bit about Arbor Games…and why it is truly such a beautiful thing!


Arbor Games is an incredibly stressful, intense, competitive, and delightful cross-campus competition where teams made up of residence floor (and lead by busy RAs) get to forget about their homework for a few hours…so that they can focus on more important things, like chugging cans of soda and creating the best one-minute, musical skit possible.
As an RA, I have spent the last several weeks obsessed with this day. I have helped to choreograph dance moves, purchased several rolls of neon duct tape, and have spent every waking hour desperately trying to convince my residents that this endeavor would be worth their time.
Today was the day where it was all worth it…hundreds (nearly one thousand) people ran around campus dressed in some of the most ridiculous costumes that I have ever seen. As I worked to get my team ready, I saw human trees, giant aardvarks and people dressed up as poop (not kidding) working on their own skits.
Somehow, those beautiful moments of insanity make all of the hours of stress seem like a small price to pay. For a few hours, homework, stress, and questions about life and future plans vanish in favor of delightful silliness. For a few minutes, the only people that we can see are our team mates. We care more about the status of a huge tug-of-war game than the current job market, or economy. We can forget that we have real lives and real things to worry about.
That is healthy.
What I was reminded of today was the fact that more of our days should look like Arbor Games day. We should, every once in a while, forget about all of the things that we are supposed to be worried about and simply focus on the fun and insanity that is right in front of us.
Arbor games are a reminder to be present, and to delight in the simple things…
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A Man Named John

A man named John…
Today has been more of full of highs and lows than I really know how to deal with. I have had so much fun and so many surprises…and more sad and tired moments than I would have liked. I feel like today, contained more “day” than any 24 hour period has the right…such is life in college.
Anyway…this morning, in one of my classes, we talked about “John the Baptist” and I realized some things that truly rocked my world.
Here’s what I’ve got…
So, John the Baptist was pretty much a big deal…
He was the messenger sent before Jesus to prepare the world for his ministry.
His life had been prophesied about for thousands of years.
He actually got to baptize the son of God.
He was miraculously conceived.
He brought about a revolution in Israel, and brought a lot of people into the kingdom of God.
Even Jesus, the Messiah, said that no one who had ever been born was greater than him (Matthew 11:11)
All of this to say…that John the Baptist is unarguably one of the most important people ever to grace this planet.
I knew all of this before I got up this morning…but something new caught my attention today
This verse: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John (John 1:6)
What caught my attention here is the fact that John didn’t come with any hoopla. His introduction here does not involve trumpets, angels and dancing fairies…it simply says that John was a man from God. He has no title, and no dramatic into…he is just John.
What is so incredible about this is the fact that first of all, God actually chose John’s (John 1:62).
God commanded John’s parents to give him his name…God picked John’s name before his birth!
That in itself is not totally unique-but the cool thing about John’s name was the fact that his name was so average! It was not an off the wall “look at me” name, it was an average Joe name…like Joe!
The thing that I am getting at is the fact that God wanted John to be someone who drew attention to himself—he was simply “A man named John”
I think that we have a lot to learn from this—especially those of us who seek to lead or teach. We are often given labels and nametags that identify the titles or the jobs that we carry. It is easy for us to become wrapped up in those labels and to forget that we were simply called to live as ourselves and to serve God moment by moment and day by day. I may “be” many things and carry many positions…but to God, I am simply “A Girl Named Becky.”

-Balance-

Terrifying Fact of the Day: I am a senior in college.
“A few months from now, I will no longer be in the sheltered world of Spring Arbor University. I will be an independent adult…and I have to be ready for that”. I have heard this fact repeated over and over again this week. I have been asked if my résumé is all set to prepare for jobs. I have been asked to research my chosen field---and it has been suggested that I should spend as much time as possible reading, preparing and tweaking myself to be ready for what is coming.
While I wholeheartedly agree that I absolutely have to prepare for the job market and for the competitive world that I am soon to find myself in, I am also convinced that all of these preparations can be taken to far…or at least in the wrong direction.
I am not going to allow myself to be prepared simply for the purpose of looking good…seeming impressive or beating the competition. I plan to work in a ministry capacity In the kinds of job that I am looking at, I do not want to be hired if I am not a good fit for the position, and I am really not sure that I want to beat any competition who also badly want to serve God.
Rather, I want to continue to become a better servant of God and of people. I will press on to becoming a better leader and a better follower this year. I will study the most effective ways to love people…and I will practice what I learn by spending time with the people that I love on this campus.
In terms of the interviews and processes that are to come, I will learn to accurately represent myself on paper so that those who could hire me know what they will be getting. That needs to be my goal this year.
I want to do little, that is merely for the purpose of getting hired, and lot for the purpose of becoming the kind of person who will be a blessing to my future workplace.

Update

No-I have not written anything here in quite some time now--mostly because my old computer was dysfunctional in such a way that typing became far more trouble than it was worth.
But, I am pleased to announce, that Jenny (my cute little blue netbook) has entered into my life-she has made blogging possible again.
Right now, I am entering my senior year of college-which is really a very scary thought. I have truly loved the past three years and know that the transition into something different may not be an easy one. But--I am increasing convinced that the same God who brought me to this wonderful place will continue to be with me as I move into my next phase and the next chapter of my life. There will be moments in the next year where I will be terrified, overwhelmed, and unsure-but I constantly need to remember that “All things work together for my good.” God will use every phase of my life to move me closer to him.
There have been so many beautiful lessons that I have learned in my time on this campus, and I know that God has brought me here completely on purpose, and I feel peace in that. In that same line of thought-I know that he has a purpose in the next steps as well.
It is good to be back online!
~Becky