Dr. Hal Curtiss Day 2

(this is a continuation of the last blog)

The second day I took over two pages of notes! They ended with this picture. (I'm not much of an artist but doodling pictures of things I'm learning helps me instantly remember what is written in my journal there. Almost like a book marker.)

The quote above the picture is from the Keith Green song Rushing Wind and it says, "Rushing winds blow through this temple, blowing out the dust within." I felt as if God was calling me to allowing His Spirit free reign in my mind to cast out misconceptions and doubts. This always takes an act of surrendering as our level of comfort often drops when we branch out of our usual thinking, but it's also necessary for growth unless we think we already have grasped all there is to know about God. So for me it was like entering an area of my mind, depicted as a temple, and preparing for the rekindling of God's activity through surrender. (If this makes no sense just go with the flow and read on...)

Secondly, that day Dr. Curtiss mentioned that God wants to spend our lives. All of it. To me this somehow computed to mean that we shouldn't be like a gift card that limits where or how God can use us. It meant that God deposited a balance of "X" number of days into our lives and expected to use each one where and how he so pleased. So I drew this card...

Some quotes from his lectures:

"Jesus never practiced what he preached. He preached what he practiced."

""Whose image is on the coin?""Caesar's.""Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's.""But whose image are we made in? The Lords! So give to Him what is his.""

"Worst than being blind is having sight without a vision." -Helen Keller-

"Vision is like a burst of "Ah! Ha!" inside you."

By day two things Dr. Curtiss was saying resonated with me. I couldn't help but admit my recognize the disbelief and judgement I'd passed on him before I even knew who he was. As the week continued it just got better.

Dr. Hal Curtiss

Hello Everyone!

Most likely you don't know this, but each week we Kairos students are required to write in an application journal covering the following topics...

Lecture Content
Summary
Relationships
Classmates
Host Family
Others
Application

While I won't be covering all those here I thought this would be a simple first blog that gives a good look at what we learn in the classroom and my life here in Kansas (now it's split into serveral blogs.... I had a lot to catch up on.) Feel free to ask question, give comments, or tell me to learn how to write by e-mailing me: thebeach2@gmail.com

3-26-07 Dr. Hal Curtiss

When I heard that Dr. Hal Curtiss was coming to teach it was a mixture of excitement and leery curiosity. What I already knew about him from the stories our directer Kevin had told resulted in a guarded heart. I see now that being guarded was unnecessary. The first day I only wrote down one thing he said in the three hours that he shared with us. Then as often happens my youth pastors words started to echo through my head, "You can learn from anyone," he would say, "as long as you're willing to put forth the effort."

I should have known by the one quote that I took down that this guy wasn't in it for glory and attention. Why the quote perfectly surmised the very things my heart has become passionate for. In the news letter I'm working on for you I share a lot about my desires to disciple. What this guy, I mean, Dr. Hal Curtiss said perfectly explains why. "I've always believed in mentoring and discipline. I think it's the best way to learn because you're not just talking from your mind. You're imparting life to life." Oh the stories he shared of relationships made after relentless love pushed through both broke my heart and inspired songs of praise. The next day was so different from the first.....