With Thanksgiving break behind us, the lodge is now gleaming in the full splendor of Christmas! From ornaments dangling off Morty’s antlers, to our twelve-foot Christmas tree, to snow falling on the first of December—all seems magical. You can rest assured that we here at the Joshua Wilderness Institute are making full use of this advent season, as we ourselves were the ones decorating the lodge, and have joyously begun to sing praise of Jesus’ birth in community worship!
Coming back into the building last Sunday after being apart for a week was such a blessing; the entire evening was filled with shrieks of laughter as we greeted one another, glad to be home. It was a sweet moment, as our little family was reunited. It is strange that although we were only apart for one week, it felt like had been ages upon our return… yet in hindsight the break seemed to pass in a single wink? Time is a mystery, and all in all, it is delightful to once again be together and be festive.
Yet in the midst of the excitement of Christmas and our return from break, we as a community have faced heaviness of heart as one of our dear sisters, Mackenzie, had to depart from the program due to health-related concerns. It has been difficult to navigate, but the hope our souls always need is since placed before us in right time, by some blessing.
Our speaker this week was Scott Ardavanis (I encourage you to check out the recorded speaker sessions from this week if you have even the slightest interest—I found his teaching on James chapter one regarding trials, temptation, and due response both phenomenal and thorough). On Tuesday morning, we had the opportunity to “grill” him for life advice and other curiosities, and a question that always arises is “What is your advice on relationships?” As young adults choosing to abstain from furthering romantic relationships for the duration of our time in the program, it is a pressingly popular inquiry in preparation for the future. However, this week, we gained much more than just what to look for in a Godly mate.
Scott loves to share stories from his life experiences, and in response to this question and defense of his position, he gave us an example of when his eldest daughter had a mutual interest in a young man who was not fit for her. He had asked Scott for permission to date her, which Scott denied. When explaining to his daughter that things were not going to pan out between her and this boy, though sobbing and heartbroken she told him, “Dad, I don’t understand, but I trust you.” That simple sentence, that declaration of trust, was piercing in the simple recognition that although her heart wanted the very thing she was unable to have she still chose to trust in her
father’s wisdom and love for her, and how thus our personal relationships with our heavenly father ought to parallel.
Furthermore, in class we are delving into what biblical lamentation looks like, peeking into the psalms, Job, and other wisdom literature. It is astounding how important lamenting is in the development of faith, and additionally relevant in respect to the events of our week. It is no easy work to cry out honestly in our pain, to remember the character of our Creator and still praise him for his goodness.
Living in a place with so many other students is a unique experience; deep and strange bonds form when you see each other so often, becoming so intertwined with one another’s daily lives. When a member of the community has to leave, it feels like losing a limb, especially in circumstances that are not negotiable. Personally close or not, every person feels the weight of each sister that has since departed, and our hearts continue to bear the loss. Yet we cling to such truth as we are led to believe: that although we might not understand why things happen as they do according to His will, the sovereignty and faithfulness of God remains unchanging in all circumstances. That even through tears and circumstantial frustration, He is worthy of trust and praise.
So please, dear friends, continue to pray for our students and staff, for hearts of peace and thanksgiving in these times as we seek to apply our learnings and live as we are called. It is my hope that joy and laughter remain in abundance as we enter such a beautiful season, and that the transcendent gift of Christ’s coming to the Earth may not be dampened by material tradition.
As always, thank you for your investment in our lives! To family reading, the next break is approaching quickly and we look forward to seeing you again at the Holidays. Until then, may love and joy keep you.
Hannah Rockwood
Hello everybody,
As we left for thanksgiving break, I was so happy to be able to finally go home and see my family and friends after 2 months of being gone. I feel like when I left, I was so thirsty to go home,I didn’t even stop and think of the community that I had here at JWI. When I came back on Sunday night, as soon as I walked through those doors, I was greeted with so many hugs that I took a moment to stop and realize how much this community matters to me! With that to say, this week has definitely been filled with some ups and downs, smiles and frowns, as we got to listen to a new speaker, have a new catalyst couple, and wave goodbye in sadness as one of our beloved Joshua sisters had to go and be able to finish off the week with our pause family.
Our new speaker this week was Scott Artivanis, and boy, was he good. The whole week, Scott took us on an adventure using James 1:13-18.he talked about sin and temptation, and he used 2 points to go off of. Source of temptation and Strength of temptation, as the source of temptation comes from the flesh and how flesh can deceive you anytime and anywhere. He also talked about the strength of temptation and how temptation can pull you faster than expected, deceive you faster than expected, and how you will fall faster than expected. In conclusion, Scott was such an amazing speaker, and I really enjoyed his time this week.
Monday at lunch, we also got introduced to Gary and Claudia, who were our new catalyst couple! Woo Hoo!! Monday night, we got to go hang out in the Joshua apartment, where we got to eat so much food. There was chips and salsa, cookies, cake, and peanuts, and I’m not even joking; I had about 4 plates of chips and salsa, and it was just so good! As we didn’t get to have a Q and A this week with them, I still had the opportunity to be able to talk to them, and it was so amazing to seek more advice from people who are older than me and have been following god longer than me! I am so grateful for Gary and Claudia, and I hope that I will be able to see them again in the future.
We got to end the week with our pause families, which was definitely something that I am always looking forward to. We started off the night by sitting down at the dining room table and got to eat some nice warm, delicious pozole and eat more chips and salsa. As the night went on, we made our way to the living room, where we watched someone draw and then see who had the better drawing. At just about the end of the night, we got to finish it off by being able to decorate cookies which was definitely a blast! Pause nights are definitely something that I love here at JWI, and I am so excited for the next night that I will be able to spend with them!
In conclusion, God has definitely blessed me with JWI, and I am so excited to see where he takes me from here. I thank you all for taking the time to read my blog post, and just remember that God loves you, and I love you too!
1 John 4:10
JWI current student, Ben Lawler 🙂