I've Been Published!

Okay, okay. So I admit the title may be a little misleading, but true nonetheless. I had an editorial published in the Sonoma State Star newspaper. I read a scathing editorial by one of the professors at SSU and couldn't help but reply. Here is what he wrote:

Dear Editor,
If I was a California Chicken I'd be celebrating right now. As a human, it was a Black week--Uncle Tom in the White House, gay marriage down in flames here in Jesus-land.
It is appalling that a slim majority of America-hating Christo-fascists, these bigoted Bible-thumping, born gain (*yes, he did forget the "a" in again) blue-noses, can so easily trample the First Amendment guarantee of Separation of Church and State and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that All Citizens Are Equal Before the Law.
They have put their theology into our State's Constitution and they have put a Special Right for special classes of citizens into our State's Constitution as well. (The Supreme Court should be outraged--but it won't be.)
"Ba-RAACK Ba-RAACK BaRAACK!" -- I'm trying to sound like a celebratory chicken.

RL, Professor of Mathematics

So, here is what I wrote in reply:

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to "Shocking results: Animal rights trump gay rights [Issue 12].
As one who identifies as what the author calls an "America-hating Christo-fascist," and a "bigoted Bible-thumping born [a]gain blue nose," I believe that his accusations were both unfair and inconsiderate.
As followers of Jesus, many Christians today, including myself, felt torn between the two sides of Proposition 8. On one hand, it is immensely hard to divorce oneself from the words of the Bible that looks down on any sort of sexually promiscuous lifestyle (1 Corinthians 6:8-10). And looking to the other side, they see God's desire for His children to promote equality in His Kingdom and for all in it (Job 31:13-15; Proverbs 22:2).
It seems that with this proposition, the Christians of California have come to an impasse. If they cast their votes yes, they are participating in the marginalization of a people group; and if they cast their votes no, they contradict their own moral and doctrinal standards of the Church. Undoubtedly a catch-22.
I am shocked at the author's immediate blame placed upon the Church for the success of this proposition. I am convinced that this proposition was not passed solely on by the influence of Christians, rather, I know many who voted No on Prop 8 because they felt it to be unjust; and they mourned with the gay community as they watched it pass.
It is the job of Christians to love people in the same manner that Christ loves the Church, regardless of their personal choices or lifestyles. The Lord desires nothing more to love His children and to see them loving one another.

Tamsen Wright, a follower of Jesus

So whaddaya think?

A Lesson in Disobedience

As the child of a teacher, I've always prided myself in being somewhat of a nerd. Homework is done on time, tests were never failed, and anything less than your best was never accepted.
Even when I moved away from home and went to college, I was that nerdy kid who did all the assigned reading and rarely skipped class. The picture of disappointed parents would always pop in my head if I thought about playing hooky. In my head they would say, "We are paying for you to become educated, Tamsen, not socialized." The line would never fail to get me in class.
Things didn't really change until recently. It was the weekend of Fall Conference, InterVarsity's first (and big) conference of the year. I was excited to go but also slightly overwhelmed at the amount of reading that was due the following Monday. Being the ever diligent student, I brought the 180 page linguistics book with me and had full intentions on reading the entire thing.
Friday night had come and gone, as well as the majority of Saturday. We had an hour before dinner, to be followed with our night session, free time, then bed. I looked at my reading. Only 137 pages to go.
My mind kicked into panic mode. I became moody and worried. For some reason I felt slightly nauseous at the thought of how much I still had to do.
The dinner bell rang and we all filed inside. The meal continued and we put our trays away. Twenty minutes until we had to go to the session, and I was trying to be a good student and do my reading in the cafe area. My friend Robbie came up to me and asked if I was doing the reading for the class we had together on Mondays. "Yes," I said, exasperated. "There is so much to do and I just don't want to!"
He looks at me and says, "You are actually going to d it?"
I think to myself, "Of COURSE I'm going to do it!!! Isn't that what I'm at college for?" Thankfully my tongue was not as quick as my thoughts and I merely sighed.
"You're such a good student, Tam," he says to me. Too bad I'm still stressed.
I continue to think about his words, his disbelief in my desire to do my homework. Why should it surprise him that I would be diligent to my studies? Why was it bothering me this much?
I finally understood. I was being a Martha when the LORD desired for my heart to be like that of a Mary. Luke recounts the story in the 10th chapter of his Gospel, with Jesus proclaiming, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and trouble about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken from her" (Luke 10:41).
Mary had chosen the better. She had opted out of busying herself with what was expected of her by her sister Martha and sat at the feet of Christ, ready to hear His every word. In doing my reading and being faithful to my studies, I was not sinning. I do not think that Martha was sinning when she was serving and hosting Christ and the disciples. And yet in her seemingly disobedient act, Mary was the one who was praised. She chose to sit and listen, she was allowing her heart to be changed and molded by the teachings of Jesus. How much better!
At the next opportunity, I promptly closed my book and put it in my backpack for the remainder of the weekend. I was ready to hear from the LORD.

*Author's note: Mom and Dad, don't worry, I'm still doing my reading. I promise I won't fail out of my classes! :D

Life's Simple Pleasures

Mondays aren't really as bad as they seem. This is why:

I wake up and go to my Astronomy 100 class. Its just your classic Freshmen GE class, but yes, I am taking it as a senior. Then I spend four hours at work with Susan and Rosa and Barbara who always keep life interesting. At 1:00, I have a lunch break for an hour before heading off to Explorations in Language. This class is not half as interesting as it sounds, it really just drags along like nothing else.

But after class is the good part. I come home and my roommate Jen is the only one home, most of the time with dinner ready to eat. We go on a run, eat when we get home, and hang out. There is a new frozen yogurt place that just recently opened called Brain Freeze and we have a whole bunch of buy-one-get-one coupons. Needless to say, this has become part of our Monday Night tradition! Yay for Fro-Yo nights with Jen!

This is Jen and I at graduation this spring. It was raining and we were making faces under our umbrella. We are good at making these faces.

My New Not-So-Childish Ambition

As I was watching college football with my roommates last weekend, I have been inspired to become something new. USC was playing, and it was the beginning of the game, Tommy Trojan was riding around the stadium on his white stallion with his plume and cape streaming behind him. Fans were cheering, people were happy. Then the best part comes: Tommy the Trojan unsheathed his sword and stabs it into the ground in a tidal wave of symbolism.

That was the moment my fate was decided: If I were to be a part of a college and/or professional sport, i would want nothing more than to be the mascot. I'm pretty sure though being any mascot would be fun, I thing being SC's would be the best. Why, you ask? Duh. The sword!

So sorry to all you Bruins fans, the bear just doesn't do it for me. But since my dreams of being Tommy Trojan probably will not happen since I am not a male, maybe I'll show up for the Bruins Mascot Tryouts next year. I'll keep you posted.

Taking Courage

I'm currently going through the book of 2nd Chronicles during my devotion time each morning. I think sometimes we as believers can get caught up in the New Testament (not like its a bad thing) and forget how the LORD has paved the way and provided for His people before Christ's coming. So in light of that, I've been trying to journey through the OT as much as I can.
I came across an interesting verse the other day and haven't really stopped thinking about the concept. It is when the King of Judah, Asa, hears the words of a prophet telling the king that the LORD is with him. It says, "When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin..." (2 Chronicles 15:8). Asa took courage. How interesting this statement is to me! Taking courage, as if it sits on a shelf or on the floor of my closet, easy to put on as a pair of socks.
What if it is really that easy? If we know that the LORD is all good, all loving, all-gracious and all-giving, why would taking courage be any harder than taking a breath? If we trust that the lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the LORD, we have no reason to fear anything in our paths. We can take courage, for we know intimately the love and care of the LORD.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage, be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9

The Soundtrack of My Life

I was walking from work on campus today to the place I have lunch almost every day (Charlie Brown's Cafe, CBC for the locals), and there was what is called a Nooner. Every Tuesday in one of the main quads there is a band or a musician who sets up shop and plays his or her music for an hour. As I was half listening to the solo and unplugged girl up there, it got me thinking about something absolutely dire: If my life had a soundtrack, what would be on it? So I put together one as soon as I got home today. I made a rule for myself that it had to be on my iTunes (but there is one exception) and there could only be one song from a band or artist. Here is what came up in no specific order:

Pocket Full of Sunshine-Natasha Benningfield (the exception)

Stillness-Aaron Shust

Blue Suede Shoes-Elvis Presley

Little Bitty Pretty One-Hootie and the Blowfish

I Want to Hold Your Hand-The Beatles

Ring of Fire-Johnny Cash

Please, Before I Go-Derek Webb

My Own Two Hands-Jack Johnson and Ben Harper

Down in the River to Pray-Allison Krauss

Far Away-Ingrid Michaelson

Compliante de la Butte-Rufus Wainwright

Hey-Jordan Yee

Where the Green Grass Grows-Tim McGraw

Suddenly I See-KT Tunstall

Girl From the North Country-Bob Dylan

Blue Eyes-Elton John

Table for Two-Caedmon's Call

No One's Gonna Love You-Band of Horses

Better Days-Goo Goo Dolls

The Blood-Shane and Shane

Beautiful Scandalous Night-Sixpence None the Richer

Weatherman-Damien Rice

Dancin' in the Moonlight-Toploader

Sing Hallelujah-Joe and Eddie

The Last Time He Saw Dorrie-Copeland

For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti-Sufjan Stevens

Gravity-Shawn McDonald

Swallowed in the Sea-Coldplay

Summertime-Mae

Elephant Love Medley-Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman

When in Rome-Nickel Creek

Resurrection-Paul Wright

Chasing Cars-Snow Patrol

Look After You-The Fray

Sinkin' Soon-Norah Jones

Collide-Jars of Clay

Hear You Me-Jimmy Eat World

Beautiful Day-U2

Slow Motion-David Gray

I Shall Not Walk Alone-Ben Harper

Into the Sun-Lifehouse

Prayers of the Saints-Dave Barnes

Martyrs and Thieves-Jennifer Knapp

Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen

Break Bread-Josh Garrels

My Love Hasn't Grown Cold-Bethany Dillon

Its All Coming Back to Me Now-Celine Dion

I Will Wait-The David Crowder Band

So as this is the official (but not necessarily permanent) soundtrack to my life, feel free to check any of these people out on iTunes. They are all fabulous. Go forward with music.

Home

I'm taking this great class with a focus on Jewish Literature, even more focused on the ideas of home and exile. Our professor had us do a free write today for about twenty minutes on the idea of home-where we feel at home, what it is like, etc. Then we were to write about a place that we have visited that had an impact or was special in our lives. Here is what I wrote:

The meaning of home is solid and yet fluid, can mean the place I grew up or the place I sleep at night. Generally it means a place where the people I love reside, where I can also love.
My dad always says that home is where the toothbrush is. In that case, I've got at least two, maybe up all the way to four. One in Rohnert Park, two in OrangeVale, and maybe one in Santa Clarita.
If this truly is the case, I've had many homes, the most recent being in McDermitt, Nevada. Six weeks in the desert on an Indian Reservation, the classroom where my coworkers and I slept certainly was home. We slept there, we escaped the noisy campers, we got some quiet and sanity there. It was not home forever, but certainly a good season.
I won't have a permanent home here on Earth. I was not meant to stay here, and I don't want to either. When I have the knowledge of a place where the streets are made of gold and a King reigns forevermore, why would I ever desire to stay on earth? No, my home is in heaven with Jesus. I've seen Jesus my Lord, and desire nothing more but to be with Him.

I've Become a Humanitarian

I'm reading this wonderful book that somehow I acquired called Revolution in World Missions. It is written by a man with the name of K.P. Yohannan, a native of India. He is the founder and international director for Gospel for Asia. His words are so convicting! Picture this:

Its Friday morning and I'm sitting at the front desk of the Administration and Finance office at Sonoma State University. I'm the new Student Assistant, which really means that I just sit around and direct people to go somewhere if they come in. Needless to say, there is a lot of down time and I'm allowed to read if there is nothing for me to do.

I pick up the words of K.P. Yohannan, and find my eyes soon being stung by tears. He writes,

"Substituting a bowl of rice for the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will never save a soul and will rarely change the attitude of a man's heart. We will not even begin to make a dent in the kingdom of darkness until we life up Christ with all the authority, power, and revelation that is given to us in the bible...Thailand owes to missionaries its widespread literacy, first printing press, first university, first hospital, first doctor and almost every other benefit of education and science. In every area, including trade and diplomacy, Christian missionaries put the needs of the host nation first and helped usher in the 20th Century. Meanwhile, millions have slipped into eternity without the Lord. They have died more educated, better governed and healthier-but they died without Christ and they are bound for hell."

Ouch. I realized that my heart for doing good works and compassion projects was for the betterment of humanity, not for the spreading of the gospel. If a woman dies with her belly full of rice and yet without the Lord, what good have I really done? I have forgotten to include Jesus and the saving grace in my daily life. I have overlooked the eternal needs of the men and women around me only to be blinded by the overwhelmingly large task of their physical needs. A man on his deathbed will still listen to the news of Jesus if he is hungry. Perhaps it is not physical food that he hungers for, rather food of the Spirit. A dying man can be brought into new life.

Now I do not believe that meeting people's physical needs is a bad thing. It is a great thing to be educated and with a full belly and clothes on your back. Its also good to help people gain these things for themselves as well. But when I have the saving knowledge of Christ crucified and raised again and yet do not give it, then what good have I really done?

Blah, Blah, Blah, LOVE.

While we were in McDermitt, Mallory told us a story she had heard about a young girl whose family was talking to their pastor after church one Sunday. Upon being asked if she had enjoyed the sermon, they little girl replied that she had. When asked why, she said, "Well, it was just like the one last week: blah, blah, blah, love."
The insight of this girl intrigued me. I once was listening to a sermon from a man named Gil Stigleitz. In this sermon he told the congregation that if they walk away from a sermon and fail to love better, then it was as if they had slept through church.
Something that I've been asking the Lord to show me for a long time is to do this: to follow His commandment to love Him and His people. But it wasn't until recently that I realized that if I keep praying this, I will continually be challenged by those whom he places in my life specifically to answer this prayer.
If I ask for lessons on love, then will not the Lord place those who he knows are hard to love in my life? He will continually be humbling me and showing me the ceaseless love that He has and encouraging me to do the same; free of judgement, resentment, and selfishness. I've found that it is impossible to love without humility and a deep understanding of grace.

Bye Bye Campers!

Well, we sent off the lats of the campers today. This week was certainly our most challenging by far, but I think it was well worth it.
We had two long-time SSP churches come this week, along with a Presbyterian church whose original mission trip plan got canceled. They were going to to to Tijuana, but they decided about a month ago not to go due to the uprising in crime and drug wars. This is where the issue lay: they were expecting something completely different.
In Mexico (a phrase we often heard from both campers and counselors alike), they built an entire house from roof to foundation in one week. When the came here and were plunked down in a different desert with only a can of paint and some brushes, these glorious expectations of home building were not met. It was a funny group, they marked on their evaluations that the night-time programs were too forced, but they were not spiritual enough. We talked about scripture both in a larger group setting and smaller, sang from the songbook (which is a little outdated and could use some revision) but they were dissatisfied. We had constant battles with them trying to explain that there are more ways to worship God than just through throwing scripture at them and singing contemporary worship. To add onto this, their youth leader and his wife were moving to Tacoma and decided that this was their last shebang. The new youth leader was stressed on multiple levels; trying to connect with his students, trying to adapt to the SSP antics, and struggling with what we as a staff saw as a too idealistic view of ministry. Because of all these things, we felt constant criticisms from both the leaders and the campers. This made it to be one of the hardest ministry things I've ever done.
The criticism and disrespect we saw from both the campers and the youth leaders of the group was too much for us all. We lost hours of sleep trying to figure out how to adapt to fit their needs, trying to accommodate them as much as we could without forgetting the other two churches. Most nights we were lucky to get into bed before 12.30, and twice it was past 1. That is especially rough when you have to get up at 5.30 and have time only for a one hour nap.
So after many highly emotionally discussions, tears, and sinful grudges being held against almost any and all who attended this particular church, we had had enough. Phil was our advocate, and pulled the three youth leaders aside before breakfast and talked to them. Things ended up going really well, they in no way meant to disrespect us, it was just the way that they dealt with things at their church. If there was a problem in their youth group, they quit what they were doing and talked about it. Since the SSP staff did not do this, many of the campers felt that they were unheard when they told us that they wanted more scripture study. But we had to take it with a grain of salt, trying to help them understand that there were two other churches there already who were doing great, and to make any major changes in the program would be very disruptive to them. Both sides apologized for the mistrust and unloving manners in which we had treated each other.
The campers were still hard on us. A few of them were starting to understand where we were coming from and giving us a little grace, but for the most part they just complained about anything they could. SSP had an outbreak of the norro virus a few years back (its the one that cruise ships get where it spreads like wildfire and everyone gets barfy and diarrhea), and because of this we have a very strict sanitary policy when serving food. Nobody but staff is allowed to touch serving utensils, katsup bottles, salad dressing, etc., and before meals they must all wash their hands and then squirt them with hand sanitizer. On so many of the evaluations we had today, they complained that they are fully capable of pouring their own dressings, etc. Tehy must have forgotten the reason behind these good intentions, we had told them on the first day why we are suck sticklers about it.
Even though this week was tough and I cried a lot, it was completely worth it. As much as they tried not to, we are convinced that they all had a good time. The other two churches had a great time. And to top it all off, four people from different churches either rededicated their lives to Jesus or gave it to Him for the first time. Praise the Lord!
So we have two more days in the desert of McDermitt, NV, then off to debrief in Sacramento. Hope to see you all soon!