So I’ve started to see a theme with my recent blog
posts. The theme is that I don’t
write them very often and for that I apologize to you all. I’ve noticed that
once the Old Testament and the teachings start to ramp up on my schedule, then
sitting at my computer and writing out my thoughts becomes less and less
attractive. But in order to catch you up on what is going on in Lake Lure, here
I sit at my computer. The past couple of months has been filled with teachings,
parents, suppressing a serious case of spring fever and developing a growing
admiration for Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Over the past 4 months I have had the privilege of teaching
Leviticus, 1st and 2nd Samuel, Jonah, Ezra and Nehemiah. The
thing that I love about teaching is during my study time for each book, God
really presses into my heart and mind to show me how I can better apply the
main idea or certain parts the book into my life. Sometimes these things are
easy, while others it is a tough process that drains me physically and
mentally. But either way, easy or tough, this is one of the best parts of the
lecture because as the book and God work in my life, I feel like I am able to
use those things in my teaching to show the students what this book can do
practically in their lives. One of my favorite books I taught this year has
been Jonah and it is because of this same reason. God did so much in my life
because I was able to connect with the character of Jonah. I was challenged,
comforted and encouraged by the character of Jonah because I felt like this
year I was being challenged with some of the same things Jonah was challenged
with. This year has been about me coming to grips with and accepting God’s plan
for my life compared to what I desired and dreamed for my life. The book of
Jonah did a lot for me to accept that God is good and that He is someone what
we can trust in the middle of the storm.
My parents came from Texas to stay and experience the camp
life for a few days in April. It was fun and refreshing for them to be here and
see what an ESBS week is like. We also got out of Lake Lure to go to Asheville
for a day and to Charlotte for the weekend to hang out with my mom’s brother
and his family. It is always fun to see the Buwicks and this trip included, in
true Buwick fashion, some competitive tennis and sports on TV.
This year I have also caught a bad case of spring fever. We
had a gloomy and wet winter and as soon as the sun started showing its face it
felt like I was being summoned to go and be outside. The spring fever bug got a
hold of me to the point where I splurged for a hammock and started scouting out
hammock spots around camp where there is the perfect sunlight to shade ratio. I
have found a few spots in the woods where you forget that you are at a summer
camp and you feel like you are all alone. I have had some really sweet times
alone with the Lord in these places and I don’t know how I made it this long
without a hammock.
The majority of my free time over the past 2 months has been
spent nose deep in a biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer written by Eric Metaxas.
Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who stood in opposition to the influence
that the Nazis were having on the German church. I have been sucked into this
book because within the life of Bonhoeffer you are able to see a man that stood
firm in the Gospel. He never backed down or shaded away from doing what he felt
like God was asking him to do. One thing that really caught my attention was
that Bonhoeffer was passionate about leading groups of students through their
daily walks with God. He was the leader of a few different seminaries and the
thing that he loved the most was the daily life with his students. This caught
my attention because that is what the ESBS is all about. Yes it’s about
teaching the Bible to the students, but on the classroom is only one aspect of
the program. On a deeper level it is taking what is learned in the classroom
and daily walking out that out in their lives. And it is an honor to be able to
do that day after day with our students here at the ESBS. It is inspiring to
see a man live this way and it motivates me to continue down the path that God
has set me on.
