A Peek Into Life at Rivendell

Well, I have been at Rivendell for over two weeks now. Time passes by quite swiftly here, but most of the time I like it that way. I was planning on writing something profound and intellectual, but I will save that for another time and instead let you in on how life goes about here in Minnesota.

My class consists of 14 students including myself. There are eight girls with whom I share a dorm, and six guys. We represent 6 states: Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Utah(that's me!). Two professors, B.J.(a theology and philosophy major) and Donald(taught law), and a faculty mentor, Missy(the president of Rivendell's daughter in law), lead us in the classroom. Unlike most colleges, here at Rivendell we study one class at a time. A semester consists of 18 weeks, in which we have three modules lasting six weeks each. For example, right now we are studying Critical Thinking for six weeks. In February we will move on to Theology for six weeks, then onto Philosophy for another six weeks. Our class stays together the entire eighteen months. So far we have read and summarized over twelve articles covering topics such as philosophy, apologetics, the nature of truth, and fallacies. During the first week we read and discussed these articles in class. The next week we learned about the importance of discipling nations from a video lecture by a woman from YWAM and a guest lecturer, Darrow Miller. This previous week we were taught how to use the software that Rivendell uses. It's difficult to explain, but basically we will read articles, essays, the Great Books and we'll map out the arguments on the computer. It's an incredible software and I'm already learning how to find arguments and fallacies in what I'm reading and watching. I am really looking forward to using the software in the future. In addition to the software, this week we began Socratic Circles. What happens in a Socratic Circle is that half of the class will go into the middle of the room, pick a topic and a question to discuss and will discuss it for about thirty minutes. While the seven are discussing, the seven in the outer circle will take notes and write down questions they have. After a half hour, the outer circle then will point out what they think and what they heard. Before we began, I was a bit nervous about giving my opinion and speaking out about what I thought. But now I love Socratic discussions. They are one of my favorite things about class. I love that we set time aside to think deeply and to discuss important questions. It brings me great joy.

In addition to the intellectual pursuit in the classroom, we also are partaking in an Inductive Bible Study. Every day, we read three chapters of a book(we've started with Genesis) highlighting, marking, and taking notes in our new inductive Bibles. Then every morning before class begins, we read aloud what we have read previously and discuss what we have learned, what jumped out at us, what the themes were, who the key characters were, etc. I am really enjoying this study. I have read Genesis numerous times, but actually reading it multiple times in one setting trying to figure out the themes and concepts brings the Word to life.

For this module, class is Monday through Friday, 8-12 and 1:30-3:00. The rest of the days are spent studying and doing homework, getting to know the girls in my dorm, trying to keep up with politics, reading, etc. Sometimes movies are played in the classrooms, while other times sports are played in the gym. I am definitely never bored here with the variety of activities and studying to do.

Yes, it's cold. I know many of you were worried I would freeze to death or something, but I'm still alive. :) There is very little snow here, but the temperatures are in the teens and sometimes negatives. I guess it is a mild winter for Minnesota, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to see the many feet of snow people keep talking about. Thankfully I don't have to drive in it.

God has been teaching me many things during my time here at Rivendell. In addition to learning to balance my socializing and my need for alone time, learning how to be relational and communicative, and learning to think deeply and spend my time wisely, He has been teaching me to abide with him through prayer and reading the Word. He has shown me how much I need daily time with him, and though a difficult process, I'm learning to give him my time and to not put other things in front of him. I'm seeing that this is a lifelong process.

Well, there is a peek into my life here in Minnesota. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Following Christ

Matthew 9:16

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

A couple of weeks before I left for Minnesota, I was studying Matthew and read this passage. This passage had never perplexed me before, but it did this time. Why would Matthew get up and follow Jesus no questions asked? Had God been preparing his heart beforehand? Was there something in the tone of Jesus’ voice that made Matthew say yes? What made him follow? I had not found an answer when I was offered a quite handsome scholarship to Rivendell Sanctuary in Bloomington, Minnesota on Thursday, December 29^th.

I had been planning on going to this college next January when I had saved enough money. But with this scholarship, it gave me more money than I could earn in one year. So if I stayed home I would be wasting money in a way. I know that money is not the most important thing, and I definitely considered many other things before I decided.

The week after I got back home from Summit Semester, I thought that God desired me to stay in Utah for whatever reason he had in mind. Therefore, I got used to living at home, had developed a schedule, and had started my job at Maceys. When I got the call with the offer of the scholarship, I was totally unprepared. The day before I had called Rivendell and told them that I couldn’t come due to finances. That Thursday, I was completely confused. At first, I barely considered it. Then as the night went on and I was given advice from family members, I began considering it more heavily. The next day at work, I fasted and prayed, yet my stress increased when I realized I had to call and give Rivendell my decision that night. In the middle of my work day, the scene from the book of Matthew popped into my mind. Matthew left everything, his family, his job, his home, to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Now I knew that my decision did not compare to Matthew’s at all. His service was probably more important than my going to a college a thousand miles away. But I was faced with the problem of leaving my family after only having four weeks with them after being away from home for three months; I would have to leave a good paying job; I would have to give up my money and go into a bit of debt; and I would have to go into the unknown. When I thought of Matthew, I decided that I could do it too, if it was God’s will(as sure as you can be in those kind of situations). My sister reminded me that I hate making decisions quickly. I always have to pray and think and seek wise counsel before making a serious decision; this sometimes takes months. However, she brought up the point that maybe God wanted to test my trust in him by putting this decision and this opportunity before me. Maybe he wanted me to take a leap of faith into the unknown and to trust him, for he is a faithful God. These two points were the major ones that helped me to decide.

So I said yes to God and yes to Rivendell. Some obstacles appeared, but thankfully they were taken care of. On Friday, my dad booked my plane ticket. On Saturday I told my boss I had to quit my job(thankfully he was understanding in my crazy predicament and put me on seasonal instead of having me quit altogether). For the next couple of days, I spent time with family, packed, and said goodbye to as many people as I could. Every single day I struggled with second thoughts, sadness about leaving my family again, stress, anxiety, not knowing if I was really doing God’s will…so much went through my mind. On Tuesday I worked for a couple hours, my parents picked me up, and took me to the airport. There I said goodbye and boarded my plane. I was sad, but as I focused on where my God was taking me, excitement filled me! The stress left. It was amazing. I arrived in Bloomington, Minnesota around ten on Tuesday, so exactly a week ago(I just realized that). It’s crazy that I’m here..haha. I will definitely fill you in on my journeys so far, but I thought I should let you know about my journey before coming here. Thanks for reading! And yes I am crazy, but God calls some of us to do crazy things.