Summit Ministries

I have no alarm. None. My cell phone now lives in the upper left desk drawer in my room. Thus my 6:30 rise and shine time is entirely dependent on the good will, and good memory of my roomie: Hannah. Thank goodness for her this morning! I swear, 6:30 comes earlier every morning!

And so, I roll out of bed after reorienting myself--and yes! I AM at Summit, not in my own bed. Thus the light pouring through the slats covering my window, thus the far distance from me to the ground (I got the top bunk), thus the familiar feeling of "AHHH!!! MUST HAVE MORE SLEEP!!" No worries, it's getting normal.

Get up. Get dressed. Make it to breakfast before they stop serving. Get coffee. Drink coffee. Now? Class time.

So far I have escaped being late to class...not any skill of mine I assure you! I depend absolutely on other people...remember my lack of a watch? So I made it again, saying the pledges, singing Amazing Grace, because that's what we do here at Summit.

Dr. Noebel (or Doc as he is affectionately called) starts out our day with Bible class. Why should we study the Bible? So far we have learned 7 reasons to study the Bible, and if you want to know what they are you have to come here. :-)

Doc's talk was followed by 3 sessions of John Stonestreet lecturing on 'Marriage and the Family' , Bio-technology and how they intersect. It's amazing how ignorant I find myself in that whole area. I feel overwhelmed and amazed as I sit and listen to have my world widened and my mind expanded.

The combination of bio-technology and the whole question of ethics is fascinating to me, and is something I have only touched on in other studies. To think that our advances in technology are faster than the moral answers we have for them is scary and sobering. Indeed, most of my day was spent thinking that...well...frankly, that we're sunk! Praise God that He is still in control, even in all of this moral and ethical confusion and controversy.

My ignorance was again brought to light after lunch (which was amazing btw--grilled cheese, my ultimate fav!! Yes, they feed us good here...) when we were subjected to a 180 question Bible exam. It was...intense. The first question is on Gen. 1:1 and it goes all the way to Revelation. Covering everything from what the North and South Kingdoms are, to how many of John the Baptist's miracles are recorded in the Bible. Needless to say, I felt dumb. :-) Sunday school did not prepare me for this!! It was good though, to see how much I thought I knew, and how much I really had no clue about.

In-between the exam and dinner I relaxed...meaning I jammed on my guitar with Jacob (my most fabular seat and front row buddy) and got an Italian cream soda with Kirsten (my most excellent team leader and friend). Dinner, then the open forum was with John Stonestreet. I love the open forums, they allow for us kiddos to raise questions with the speakers that are relevant to our lives. For a lot of us, I think this is where these issues become personal.

Praise and worship, then our evening period with Doc on Worldviews. Tonight we finished up on the 6 worldviews and how the world's population is divided between them. I love this part, and it's been cool to see his (Doc's) vision unfold with what he's explaining to us. Every night these 45 minutes fly by.

A quick break and we ended our 'scholastic overload' day with a video on Islam, its belief system and the way it's playing out in our world.

So how do I feel at the end of day three at Summit? Well... tired. Inspired. Challenged. Tired. Freaked out. Inadequate. Tired. Hopeful. Ready for another day in which to learn, to discuss, to seek out the truth God has out before our eyes in the form of His Word. Yes, life is busy here at the Summit, there is never a dull moment, and that's just the way I love it!

(Now I better sign off as I'm the only peon student in the lobby during staff relax time...yipes! Here's your computer Ro-dawg...goodnight world!)

Live from the Colorado Rockies, and yes, high on them...