...has questions

acacia's precept on calvin and the church was fascinating this evening. it really touched on many of my personal concerns with attending church and understanding the church as a whole. they talked of the visible church which means the small community that you play a part in and the invisible church which is the full body of christ that only god can fathom. (?) they talked of the essentials and that which makes the church what it is. what is a person's role in the body of christ? what does it mean to live in solitude and be separate from a visible church? does this mean you are not part of christ's flock or body? what is the role of the church in recieving salvation?

seminar just seems to be a series of questions posed one after another meant to challenge the other to look deeper into the meaning of the text and the meaning of the reality. it seems that the asking of questions never creates more confusion but gives one a larger sense of the topic.

"i really want to go here" i tell acacia. "no way!" she says. she's pretending to be surprised. in aimee's dorm after seminar we had a good discussion about what would come after st. john's. papa really wanted me to consider this question before deciding where to go to school. what comes after 4 years immersed in philosophy and exploring the ideas of the universe? what can i take away from an undergraduate degree in liberal arts? what should i study in graduate school? acacia said st. john's is where someone goes when they are not exactly sure what to pursue in life and really want to get a little sample of everything. she promised papa she would help me research colleges while i'm here and i think we're off to a good start. once school is out for winter break we will begin a more focused exploration.

i played with sculpey today. it's like clay but it doesn't harden or dry out until you bake it. it's so much fun to create things with my hands. i wonder if god enjoyed making me.