So far this summer has been fantastic. After graduation I spent the rest of May in Cleveland doing a little work for the Theology Department and spending a lot of time in prayer and study. It was a needed rest, especially after the weird nostalgia of graduation. Everyone rolled out of Cleveland on May 7th except for a small group of us, and I had an incredible opportunity to get alone with the Lord.
Last weekend (June 4) I went to Birmingham for Mason Tanner's wedding, and afterward I was able to spend the rest of the night and Sunday at my old roommates house, Caleb Hughes. His family gives leadership to the Birmingham Prayer Furnace and Hope Culture Church. It was a blessing to hangout with them for a day. As I left it really does seem like they have developed a culture of hope. Being in the community I was edified and challenged to go deeper with the Lord.
That same week my brother and I left for a road trip on Wednesday at 4AM to visit Illinois. He is starting their grad program in the fall and needed to take a trip, so we drove 8 hours Wednesday and came back thursday. That was a long (but very fun) trip. Then Friday I left to go to Augusta GA to visit my grandmother and other Family. Monday I left again to come visit my other grandmother on St. Simons Island. I'll be here till tomorrow, and I must say, it is very relaxing.
So far summer has been a blast. I am looking forward to the next month before I go to IHOP-KC. I will be spending time in Marietta until Riverstone Summer Camp, July 3-8 and on the 8th I will be heading out to Kansas City.
I've been able to do some good reading too. Clowning in Rome by Henri Nouwen has been my favorite. He writes about prayer, solitude, celibacy, and having communion with God. He suggests that everyone in community must take time to get alone in solitude to develop a deeper relationship with those whom you are in community with.
I also read A Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards. He tells a story paralleling Saul and David, with David and Absalom. This book is incredible for any leader and I highly recommend it. He illustrates the brokenness with which David has as a King.
Lastly, I have been reading an old friends blog, Mo Isom. She has an incredible story and I encourage anyone interested to go to the beginning of her blog and read the posts about "Her Story." The Lord has used her powerfully, and it is cool to see.
For those of you who follow my blog, I will be updating my blog/website within the next week. Check back to see how things will change. The URL will still be www.kurtpmiller.com. Thanks!
College Graduate
I must say, it is weird to think that I am done with Lee. I have finished my school here, but it will be hard to leave. Lee has become a part of me. Friends have come and they have gone, and for a moment I wondered where the Lord was, but He has been faithful to remind me of His faithfulness. The reality is that he has sent me to Lee and Cleveland for a time and season, and the time and season is now up. This is good.
I have learned a lot of new things, met a lot of good people, and given my heart to this school unlike I ever have before, but if I know one thing I know that I have my eyes set on a city who's builder and maker is God, just like Abraham. In the same way that he packed up and left not knowing where he was going, I will too (Hebrews 11-12). I want my vision to be steady so that I am not like a reed shaken by the wind. I planning to go to IHOP-KC for a season right now and don't know much after that, although I am excited and expectant. Lee has given me a desire to incorporate sound theological doctrine, depth, and study into the body of Christ so that we may be rooted and established in His love. My official transcript will state,
Bachelor of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies, with Minors in Biblical Languages and Spanish.Who knows where this will take me, I simply hope that it will cause me to love Jesus well so that the Lamb may receive the reward of His sufferings.
As I leave Lee, I am thankful to say that I have very few (if any) regrets. In some way this is how the Lord uses the foolish things to shame the wise. I have spent the past three years studying Theology and sitting in a small room praying to a God that I don't see. It seems dumb, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My time at Lee and with the Prayer Room culminated in a Prayer Conference focused on Intimacy with Jesus in which 700 people pre-registered. Somehow the Lord has taken our weak efforts and attempts to bring prayer back to Lee and has made it a central focus of the campus. I am expectant to see what happens at Lee University and in Cleveland TN.
(Now that I have more time on my hands, look forward to more posts)
Reminiscing
The past couple weeks (or shall I say months) have been a blast. I have literally been having the time of my life. I feel like I am praying harder and running harder in life than I ever have before. But this running does not feel like striving, nor does it feel like a works based faith. Instead, it actually feels like I am operating as a Son. I can't get away from the inner groan of the spirit that is keeping me praying, reading, and digging in the Word.
In a way I feel like I did when the Lord first showed me His love. At that moment (6 years ago) there was a zeal inside of me that was good, but immature and impatient. It seems that after that first year or two that zeal lost a little of it's intensity, but I knew I had to keep my commitments to the Lord (i.e., regular prayer, fasting, and reading the word) despite what I felt. In fact, while the Lord was gracious to give me days where He would show me his love to keep going, I rarely felt much emotion at all. Moreover, the criticisms were prevailing. My life of devotion to Jesus was apparently offensive to some and they didn't hesitate to let me know (although I'm still trying to figure that part out).
I don't want to sound completely negative, there were good seasons for sure, but more times than not the Christian life is characterized by dying to ones-self. That was what I longed to embrace. This continued on (with it's ebs and flows, and highs and lows) until the close of 2010, when my identity was really challenged. The last couple months of 2010, I felt like Satan launched an all out assault on me. At times I even felt a little like Job (though definitely not to the same extent), I would appeal to my friends in attempt to find my identity. While nothing terrible or dramatic was happening in my life, I felt as though there was. To say the least, it was a difficult semester.
Then 2011 rolled in. Things at Lee changed, leaders stepped down and leaders stepped up (including myself). Because this is my last semester at Lee, I actually didn't think I would have this opportunity. Most of my career at Lee was hidden. While I did a lot of good work for various things, it was all behind the scenes, and I felt like that was what the Lord told me to do when I first arrived.
But there was a shift this semester. The Lord took me from hiding to shining. I was launched into operating in a realm of leadership that I feel like is a piece of my destiny and calling. It's hard to put to words, and if I had to, I think I would say it similar to Irenaeus:
I don't want to sound young, ignorant, and immature, I can almost guarantee that the time of wrestle will come again. Like I said earlier, dying to ones-self is characteristic of the Christian life. But I do want to soak this time in so that when that day does come and the seasons do change again I can have this memory as a stone of remembrance.
Not sure why I opened my heart up just now, but I hope you were encouraged!
In a way I feel like I did when the Lord first showed me His love. At that moment (6 years ago) there was a zeal inside of me that was good, but immature and impatient. It seems that after that first year or two that zeal lost a little of it's intensity, but I knew I had to keep my commitments to the Lord (i.e., regular prayer, fasting, and reading the word) despite what I felt. In fact, while the Lord was gracious to give me days where He would show me his love to keep going, I rarely felt much emotion at all. Moreover, the criticisms were prevailing. My life of devotion to Jesus was apparently offensive to some and they didn't hesitate to let me know (although I'm still trying to figure that part out).
I don't want to sound completely negative, there were good seasons for sure, but more times than not the Christian life is characterized by dying to ones-self. That was what I longed to embrace. This continued on (with it's ebs and flows, and highs and lows) until the close of 2010, when my identity was really challenged. The last couple months of 2010, I felt like Satan launched an all out assault on me. At times I even felt a little like Job (though definitely not to the same extent), I would appeal to my friends in attempt to find my identity. While nothing terrible or dramatic was happening in my life, I felt as though there was. To say the least, it was a difficult semester.
Then 2011 rolled in. Things at Lee changed, leaders stepped down and leaders stepped up (including myself). Because this is my last semester at Lee, I actually didn't think I would have this opportunity. Most of my career at Lee was hidden. While I did a lot of good work for various things, it was all behind the scenes, and I felt like that was what the Lord told me to do when I first arrived.
But there was a shift this semester. The Lord took me from hiding to shining. I was launched into operating in a realm of leadership that I feel like is a piece of my destiny and calling. It's hard to put to words, and if I had to, I think I would say it similar to Irenaeus:
The Glory of God is man fully alive.
I don't want to sound young, ignorant, and immature, I can almost guarantee that the time of wrestle will come again. Like I said earlier, dying to ones-self is characteristic of the Christian life. But I do want to soak this time in so that when that day does come and the seasons do change again I can have this memory as a stone of remembrance.
Not sure why I opened my heart up just now, but I hope you were encouraged!
