life, among other things...

My profuse apologies for being a wayward blogger. My grand blog-updating intentions have not exactly come to fruition, but I am working on it. promise.

The events of this past month are hard to put into words (and the longer I wait to write about it, the harder it becomes...darn you vicious cycle!).
We have fallen into a rhythm, of sorts, here in Auckland. School takes the primary focus, but there is also plenty of time to explore the city and engage with the people here. Each week of class has a different topic and a visiting speaker lectures on said topic Monday - Thursday. Every Friday has a different "justice" focus, such as poverty, refugees, human trafficking, genocide, or fair trade.
I've heard it said that it is difficult to go back to school after being in the "real world," but I am finding it quite wonderful! Especially as I study something that I am truly passionate about. I miss my friends and coworkers, but I do not miss the daily grind of corporate America, and am now relatively certain that I am ruined forever for that lifestyle.

I've been able to spend a lot of time with God, simply deepening that relationship and discovering roots into true kingdom living -- which has little to do with religion, per say, but everything to do with knowing Jesus: who He was, and how He LOVED and served people!

The following is a quote from a book I am reading: "Jesus Among Other Gods" by Ravi Zacharias. I highly recommend it, if you are looking for an interesting comparison between Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and various other religions.

Napoleon expressed these thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect to the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to her side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered: "Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions die for Him...I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man...I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me...but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self devotion in their hearts...Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across the chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love towards Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ."