well,

after probably a complete 24 hour period of no motivation or ability to write, two sleepless-ish nights, failure to turn in things on time and a reflection on grace, i have preached my second sermon for preaching class. it was okay. i would say there were some good things and some not so good things in the sermon. i really appreciate the constructive comments from my classmates. i'm glad for the criticism. the compliments are sometimes hard to take but they're good to hear too. haha, that seems totally backwards doesn't it! i'm actually glad that when angela (our teaching assistant) was asking questions there was silence. i'm glad to learn that i can't always expect people to understand my points or where i'm leading. it will help me to learn precision in thought and clarity in communicating. i was so nervous about preaching a narrative sermon. i was afraid that what i wanted to say was going to interrupt what God was trying to say. i think preparing this sermon has been a holy experience. it was holy but it was not easy. and isn't it just like elijah that when i felt so far away from the glory of God, that's when God was the nearest.

also, even though it sounds cheesy, i really do feel like i have a strong connection with elijah now. we're friends. i hope that whenever i preach a sermon in the future that i do feel drawn deeper into the Biblical story. i felt it with john the baptist. i felt it with elijah. God is using these scriptures to get my heart. i've never felt that so completely before. thank you Holy Spirit.