Author: lcmleaders

On life, love and quite a bit of Jesus

Over the course of the past week, I’ve somehow managed to realize a few new things about my faith. Last Wednesday, we got to celebrate a particular faith story, wonderful music, and newfound faces. It was the first time this year that I felt like the Lord was strongly present. We sang, we talked, we laughed, and we prayed. On Saturday, a bunch of us LCM’ers all went to Pastor Kate’s wedding and also laughed, cried, and enjoyed a heck of a lot of good company (and some Spanish candy hearts!!!).

With Valentine’s Day here and present, I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships. I mean we all do it, right?! I constantly think about my friends in relationships and how much I want to find someone who gets me too. I wonder when God will tell the guy to just hurry up and make it happen, and everything will reveal itself magically. I want the whole dress-up, mushy Valentine’s date, flowers and chocolates in hand, and the other in the one that I’m supposed to be with. But sadly, today is Valentine’s Day and there isn’t that one special date to have dinner with. It’s hard. And when I speak for myself, I’m assuming I’m speaking for a lot of other people as well. It’s hard to look for that trust in God and for that constant remembrance of His plan when you feel as if you’re the one that has been forgotten about.

After Pastor Kate’s wedding on Saturday, I really realized that waiting for God and turning to God is the best thing I can do. I would rather wait for a while longer to find the one that shares my passion for faith and for God than to date somebody now who doesn’t feel the same. I know He has a plan for me and has plans for me to meet the best guy I could ever dream of. And the most important thing I can do is wait patiently with my eyes and ears open to all new experiences, situations and people. Maybe then I will finally find exactly who I’m looking for, and a whole lot more love to give. For right now, my faith will guide me and I’ll continue to keep on loving all those I can.

Megan

+1 John 4:7-12

In the spirit of taking on and not giving up

We often speak of Lenten practices or traditions such as Shrove Tuesday, the imposition of ashes, or the popular question “what are you giving up for lent”? As a kid growing up, I was the Lutheran in a neighborhood where my friends down the street all went to Catholic school and without fail every Lent constantly talked about what they were giving up. It always struck me as odd and it still does. Not that it’s a bad practice, it’s just that I’ve never really understood it.  I think it must be for the same reason I don’t particularly care for Valentine’s day. The thought being, you shouldn’t need a day to tell someone you love them, it should be a daily affirmation. Similarly, these forty days of Lent are an important and powerful time in the liturgical year but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to forty days but instead embrace all 365. Instead of giving up something,  I have found myself thinking “What might I take on for lent”?

I wasn’t really sure what that “taking on” might look like until last night. I had the privilege to join a delegation from Grace, meeting at a church near the state capitol as a part of the larger group ISAIAH, which brings together  people of faith to promote equity and justice during the legislative session. There were many inspiring words from faith leaders of many traditions, including our own Pastor Dan. A fitting way to start Lent it seemed, for then it hit me. Amidst the stories of struggle and calls to action, I was reminded of the story of my freshman year roommate Vang. I would like share with you a bit of his story here.

Vang  grew up in the son of Hmong refugees in the projects on the East side of St. Paul. Not the projects of New York or Harlem or Chicago but right here in  St. Paul, Minnesota. Vang and I were roommates my first year of college and became good friends. I have never met anyone as deeply passionate about the power of education both in his own life but more importantly how that gift can work for good in the lives of others. Vang dedicated his studies to math and education and I watched him put in long hours to help others realize their own potential and work towards success. Through our many conversations, Vang told me that his passion for the power of education came from his childhood. He told me stories of how his parents came to this country, refugees from the secret war, in order that their children might have a better life.

Of how his older brother was involved in a gang and one day some members of another gang pulled up in a car in front of Vang’s house looking for his brother. They asked Vang if he had seen his brother that day and knew where he was. Vang said no. They replied that they would kill him if they saw him or his brother again, flashed a gun and took off. Vang then told me that he loved his older brother but feared that his younger siblings might end up in that lifestyle as well and that is why he worked tirelessly to instill the value of education in them and many others in his community.

Vang is now a successful student teacher in the area, having already given so much to the community he loves and has set himself up to be able to give back even more in the years to come. While his story is one of struggle and perseverance that serves as a shining model, it is also a strong reminder. A reminder that no child should have to grow up among gangs or bullets or threats, living in the projects, having to worry about their safety while trying to get an education. No parent should have to lie awake at night, worrying if their child will make it home from their pickup basketball game with friends down the street.

And so it is Vang and his struggle, and his story that I seek to take on for Lent.

I challenge you in this time of reflection to think about what or whom you might reflect on, or take on if you will, for lent and hopefully turn it into a daily practice.  Naturally, the liturgical calendar does not line up nicely with the school calendar and it is a busy time for all of us, but in the spirit of Luther, it’s not about our actions but our faith. Faith that amidst brokenness, stories can be told and love can be found and grown. Love which lays the foundation these forty days, of the house which in the face of sorrow and strife proclaims from floor to rafter

All are welcome

All are welcome

All are welcome in this place

May the peace that passes all understanding be with you and guide you this Lenten season and always.

-Mark

Success Is A Very Hideous Thing

“…Success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men. For the masses, success has almost the same profile as supremacy.”

Winter Break gives us a chance to spend time with family and friends, it gives us free time and the space to reflect on our lives without the constant pressure that classes put on us, which can greatly alter our perspectives.  I myself have had a fair amount of free time over these past few weeks and one of the things that I have done was start to re-read my favorite novel, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. And while I was reading it a line struck me that never had in my multiple readings of it in the past, “success is a very hideous thing.”

It struck me because now that I am no longer surrounded by the immediate pressure of success, in the form of grades on tests, and finding a job I am able to see what an ugly thing it is. It reminds me that our lives are not, and should not, be measured in quantitative terms (which is difficult for an engineering student to admit) through test scores or salaries, but instead through our passions, and our relationships with people. This is not at all different from the message that Jesus tells in the Bible, treat others as you would like to be treated, don’t focus on numbers but instead on being your genuine self; because success is a very hideous thing.

-Laura Kulm

*Victor Hugo’s explanation of success goes on for a couple paragraphs and is in Book 1, Chapter 12 (the ebook can be easily found online).

A Love Letter for College Students

It’s that time of year again. The end of the semester. Finals week. So stressful. So tantalizingly close to Christmas and winter break. Yet at the same time feeling so far away.

It’s the time of year when everyone I talk to seems to be burnt-out, tired, frustrated, just making it. The time of year when everyone could use a love letter.

I stumbled across this gem last year, and I read it now and then when I need a pick-me-up. It’s incredibly sweet and deserves to be shared. So put down the textbook and read this.

Put down the textbook… and read this: A Love Letter for the College Students

I’ve been there.

Books piled up in a stack beside you. Nodding off to the glow of the computer screen. Neon strips of highlighter scraped across your forehead, leftover not from a raging highlighter party the night before but rather the all-nighter spent spooning Shakespeare term papers and mind-rattling interpretations of Samuel Beckett’s best works.

Some of you are halfway through. Knees sunk deep in the muds of history power points and audio projects. Stammering in the mirror before you give that final speech in class tomorrow. Still muddling through the differences between el & usted. Nosotros & Vosotros.

Some of you are stocking up on caffeine fixes and 5-Hour Energy drinks before the storm hits. A storm of finals worth 60% of your grade. 12-pagers that will have you crawling into the light of the morning, turning your study guide into a white flag to wave and surrender.

You’ll make it.

I know it. I can promise that there are lights & lanterns & the promise of oh, holier nights at the end of your tunnel. Perhaps it won’t be the grace of a love letter but the grace you’ll gain from the sound of the last book shutting. The sound of the last pages shuffling out from the printer and into your professor’s mailbox.

Remember to breathe. To eat. To sleep, if you can. Curl up on the couch in the campus center if that’s what it takes. Blast Carol of the Bells while you sip a pumpkin spice latter that you so deserve. And, on the nights where 1am comes quicker than shoppers to Best Buy on Black Friday, be the one to text your friends, “Diner. 2am. I’ll drive.”

I still keep that memory.

Unearth it as I do the ugly sweaters that get pulled down from the attic this time of year and pulling off the cobwebs of a time that I didn’t know I’d ever miss. A stack of pancakes. An open laptop. Hot chocolate with whipped cream dribbling from the side. All of us laughing, not knowing at the time that yes, yes, we were going to miss it one day soon.

It’s hard to believe that right now as you struggle to swallow every prefix in the dictionary or every literary term you’ll need to dissect that Emily D. poem tomorrow. But the closeness of friends in one place, the justified seeing of the sun coming up before you close a book and allow your bottom and top lids to mingle with one another again after a solid two weeks of Open & Awake, the 24/7 sweatpants apparel for at least two weeks… you’ll miss it when it is gone.

So pick your chin up from the computer. Stand up and stretch. Take a break to call your friend and see how studying is going. If there is someone beside you, smile… propose a coffee break… treat them.

String up holiday lights in your dorm’s lounge and claim that a study executed at 800 universities across the country proved that the ambiance of the teeny tiny bulbs increased final grades by a whopping 73% percent.

Put out a blanket in the middle of your campus center. Fake candles (cause we all know the real ones are not allowed). Make unneccessary references to Elf quotes throughout the night (Santa?! I know him!). Let Beethoven trickle through the iHome. Take a Target break. Buy reindeer ears for no good reason. Drive home the long way and let the lights catch you and hold you for a pocket of peace. Stop the car. Park it. And just sit quiet for a minute– no texts to keep you, no Instagram to push you off from the moment at hand. Forget for a moment that your vocabulary is plumped with Finals & Responsibility & Deadlines & Due Dates. Just laugh & sing & dare to miss the moments that will be gone tomorrow.

Remember: It is a book. It is a test. It is a paper. That’s it. That’s all.

You’ll make it. Myself, this love letter, and anyone who has ever been there before…we are pulling for you.

Happy Finals!

-Hannah Katy

Link to original: http://www.moreloveletters.com/2011/12/07/put-down-the-textbook-and-read-this-a-love-letter-for-the-college-students/

-Meghan

Joy in the midst of it all

As we near the last weeks of the semester, almost all of us are nearing the brink of stressful insanity (and some have leaped clear off the edge). The studying, the essay writing, the reading all quickly build up into a drastic lack of sleep, food, and, most importantly, fun.

It’s all too easy during these busy, stressful times to isolate ourselves from each other and from God. We tend to think we’re alone, that we’re the only ones drowning, and that we are the only ones who can fix it.

On Wednesday night, however, I was reminded that I’m not alone. We have a whole community there looking out for each other and all of us are going through craziness right now.

For our LCM Christmas party, we all hit pause and took time to bake cookies, listen to Christmas music, and hang out. The night started with using coffee pots and glasses as makeshift rolling pins and ended with some of us tap dancing in a circle in the church kitchen. Needless to say, laughter abounded.

It was a wonderful feeling – to just turn it all over to God and rejoice in life. I was reminded that everything becomes a lot easier when we stop trying to hold onto it so tightly. In these next two weeks, the stress will undoubtedly continue, but hopefully we will seek solace in community and remember to laugh through it all.

– Bryna

Puzzle Pieces– thoughts from the Campus Connector

On November 7^th (the day after the election), I was riding the campus connector to St. Paul, still half asleep, checking Facebook on my phone. As I was glancing at random photos and reading my friends’ opinions on the results of the election, I came across a fellow LCM leader, Bryna’s, Facebook status. It read, “Finishing work in a deserted conference center at 2 a.m. man do I love reporting. :)” My first subconscious thought: oh my gosh that sounds absolutely awful.  I kept scrolling through, but found myself scrolling back up to Bryna’s status, re-reading it, noticing the smiley face, and thinking, “That’s actually really awesome that she’s so passionate about what she does. It’s a good thing she loves reporting, otherwise I wouldn’t know what the heck was going on.”

This is going to sound really really cheesy, but that’s okay with me. After re-reading Bryna’s status, I woke up immediately and got really excited about life, realizing that everyone that I would interact with that day has a passion and purpose—discovered or not, it’s there. Then, and here’s where it gets cheesy/BEAUTIFUL, I began to visualize the world as a giant puzzle, and God playing the role of the puzzle-maker. God’s just hanging out at his puzzle table, maybe listening to some Christmas music and eating some Oreos, putting together this puzzle of the world.  We, as humans, are the pieces of the puzzle. So now I’m visualizing myself and everyone around me as puzzle pieces… just running around searching for the place to ‘fit in’ perfectly. I really don’t like the idea of the phrase ‘fitting in’ because, for me, it comes with connotations of conforming to society. Fitting in, in this situation, is more along the lines of discovering your passion and feeling confident and motivated with where you’re at in life at a particular moment.

So, amidst all of this discerning, searching, and discovering our passions, there is often a feeling of loss and helplessness. “Everyone around me seems to have their futures all figured out, and I still have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.” While I can pretty much guarantee that no one feels 100% confident in what the future holds for them, in this situation, I’m picturing God getting distracted with all of the fun he’s having doing this huge puzzle, that he doesn’t notice the lost pieces that he dropped on the floor. Or maybe he’s an outside-of-the-puzzle-first kind of guy and your place is in the middle of the puzzle… your feeling of being lost and unsure is completely intentional on God’s part here.

In any case, after thinking about and building this idea for a few weeks, I’m comforted over and over again by the idea that God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. Everyone has a place in the great puzzle of the world. And even when we think we’ve found our place in the puzzle–or our passion in life, there’s always the possibility of God starting a new puzzle… rotating, changing, and moving the pieces around to challenge us and show us new possibilities.

So, may this blogpost provide some sort of comfort and relief for you as we continue our journey into not only finals week, but also the season of Advent—a season of waiting and preparation for big things to come 🙂

God’s Peace,

Kalysta Schlitter

Being Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, God has given me a lot to be thankful for.

This past week my mom spent two nights in the hospital.  She had a blood clot causing a lot of pain in her leg.  After going to the emergency room she had it confirmed that it was a clot in her leg.  The doctor also questioned her on her shortness of breath, which she attributed to being nervous about being the hospital.  However, they did an MRI on her chest to find a few smaller blood clots in her lungs. After, she was given blood thinners and was able to be home in two days.  Honestly, I am still overwhelmed, but incredibly thankful that they found the clots in her lungs.

She is a lot better now, I am keep thanking God that they found the clots in her lungs, things could have been much worse.

I am incredibly blessed to be able to be close enough to home that I had the opportunity to spend the day with her in the hospital with my family.

The response of my friends and family to what happen also reminded me of how blessed I am for the people God placed in my life. The concern from close friends meant the world to me.  I really believe that God puts bad or scary things in our life so we will realize how much else we have been given.

These situations also put into perspective what is most important in live and what can be left as it is.  Last week was incredible stressful but also reminded me of what I value and where I need to be grounded.   I have been caught up in so many other things that I feel like I just got distracted, and God can use anything to bring us back to where we belong.  Sadly, it took a visit to a hospital for me to finally feel like I needed to be re-grounded.

But I am thankful that God takes the time to let us back.

-Allison

Finding Purpose

Last Thursday, I attended a lecture given by Mary S Poplin (not Poppins, sad, I know) about finding purpose. First off, what an interesting lady! Mary worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, did research on inter-city schools, and taught as a professor while finding God and her purpose along the way. Suffice it to say, she has had quite the journey and had some solid advice on finding one’s purpose.

I think it was Pastor Kate who once told me that purpose lies at the intersection of what you’re good at and where you’re needed. (Although she probably said it much more elegantly.) Mary had a very similar view. She told us to examine the gifts God has given us and to examine our passions. What stood out to me, though, was her advice on how to find our passion. She told us to ask what grieves us the most. For example, Mary was grieved by public education systems that left impoverished kids behind. This drove her to work in education.

How cool is that? Instead of being overwhelmed by what grieves us, we can turn it around to find our passions. Those feelings of hopelessness can be a sign to find where we are needed and what we are passionate about. So now, what grieves you most?

-Meghan with an H

A Day Away

Last weekend, I, and about ten other students piled into cars and headed to Wisconsin for a day away from campus.  I am currently in the midst of midterms, projects, and assignments which all seem to be due at the exact same time!  I was concerned that spending an entire day away from campus was a bad idea, especially with my list of homework continuously growing.

As we drove deeper and deeper into Wisconsin, farther and farther away from campus, my regret continued to grow.  We finally reached the pastors’ “farm” in Beldenville, WI.  It was so beautiful to be out in the country on a fall day.  I was surprised at how calming it was to be away from the hustle and bustle of campus back in Minneapolis.

We enjoyed a day of resting and reconnecting with each other, ourselves, and God.  I especially enjoyed exploring the “farm” and observing all of the gorgeous fall colors.  I also got to have a one-on-one conversation with a new member of our LCM community.  It was really fun getting to know her, and it almost seemed as if I was reconnecting with an old friend!  We ended our day with homemade apple crisp which was delicious!

I found myself having such a great time that I did not want to leave and return to “real life”.  However my homework was calling and it was time to return to campus.  Obviously, school is important, after all, that is what we are here for!  But looking back, I can see that a day away to rest and reconnect was exactly what I needed during this busy time of the school year!

Amy Weispfenning

the importance of community…

This week I was lucky enough to experience something I don’t often get to appreciate on a day that I couldn’t have planned more perfectly! I was going through my normal morning routine when I noticed the sun rising outside. Just the steps of it glowing behind already lit-up buildings, to breaking its first burst of light, to being fully present outside my window made me realize that no matter what was going to happen that day, it would be good.

I had a packed day ahead of me, and I was unsure of how it was going to turn out. I was volunteering in a nearby high school for my education class and it was my first day. A, I was scared only because I didn’t know what to expect, and B, I was just plain excited. It ended up being a great start to my semester of volunteering! I got to help students out and observe a Spanish classroom with tips from the teacher. I loved it.

After that I was back on campus for my dance/movement therapy class only to find myself creating movement that correlated with how I felt for the day and also connecting with others’ movement in conjunction with a significant story from their life. I was constantly feeling this pull to other people and I just couldn’t get enough of it.

That night, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. I attended a session on the marriage amendment and how to have meaningful and real conversations about it and possibly voting no. It taught me so much about the GLBT community and the real life connections people had with these people that were so connected by their love that nothing could separate them. After this session we had pause, and I just felt my day come together completely.

The reading at worship just happened to be when Paul writes to the Corinthians about the importance of community. For the body has many members… you know it. The part that stuck out to me though, was verse 26.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. It got me thinking about every little thing I had done that day, and who I had done it with. Nothing would’ve been so successful and perfect about my day if I didn’t have the communities I shared it with. So as we hear Paul’s words, I think it’s safe to say community affects us a lot every single day. Think about those you love and keep close to you, those who accept you, and those who are simply blessed about your simple presence in their life. Now go out and do that for someone else, and God’s kingdom can grow even bigger than it already is.

+Galatians 5:13-14

Megan Luken