{"id":1166,"date":"2013-08-01T10:17:44","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T15:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/fearofwhales\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2013-08-01T10:17:45","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T15:17:45","slug":"3-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fearofwhales\/2013\/08\/3-years-ago.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Three years ago at this time I started this blog. I backdated some posts from earlier blogs when I started it.    <\/p>\n<p>I was fundraising for InterVarsity and trying to increase my web presence. I had a lot of time on my hands, a lot of people who I wanted to be able to stay in contact with, and a need to feel heard.     <\/p>\n<p>Yesterday I left Kansas. and as of Today I live in Austin, Texas.     <\/p>\n<p>Three years ago I felt like I had been waiting forever for my life to start. That I has abundant training and experience, but precious little application. I felt pressed against the door to adventure and adulthood, but I felt it locked from the other side.     <\/p>\n<p>Today I feel tired. Poured out like a drink offering. I gave everything I had in mission at Kansas State University, and now I look forward to a break where I can think and fast and pray and rest while I get my MDiv     <\/p>\n<p>The process 3 years ago took longer than I wanted it to. More than a Full year from first contact to final departure. In that time I left churches and friends, often months in advance. I took I moved 3 times and regretted my storage unit and moving truck.     <\/p>\n<p>Today I packed everything into my van and left in a few weeks notice. 3 Different churches blessed me on my was this past Sunday. And I arrived ahead of schedule.     <\/p>\n<p>When I arrived in Kansas I was greeted as a spiritual leader, and given overwhelming hospitality in the prairie. I come today as a servant and learner, and don\u2019t know yet how it will go in the big city.     <\/p>\n<p>3 years ago I watched a Church open it\u2019s doors for the first time, this Sunday I saw one laid to rest     <\/p>\n<p>I will always treasure the experiences I had.     <\/p>\n<p>-I learned a new methodology of Bible Study     <br \/>-I gained experience with the cultural differences inside the US     <br \/>-I saw people come to know Christ     <br \/>-I learned incarnation     <br \/>-I got the big typical college experience I had always wanted     <br \/>-I led a Black Bible Study, which I had never expected     <br \/>-I spoke at many churches     <br \/>-I made lifelong friends     <br \/>-I played matchmaker and got some folks hitched     <br \/>-I lived with A Christian Philosopher     <br \/>-I started a Bike ministry, a paintball ministry, a computer ministry, a car ministry, and an RPG     <br \/>-I was inspired by great teaching, and read great books     <br \/>-I succeeded at many things, and failed at more     <br \/>-I learned to make Chai from a Pakistani, and talked social media with a Jasmine Revolutionary     <br \/>-I saw parts of America the coasters never bother to visit, and grew in love for the flyover states     <br \/>-I ate the best BBQ in the world at no less than 3 distinct places     <br \/>-I applied scripture in new and radical ways     <br \/>-I did a thousand other things     <br \/>-I lived, laughed, and Loved     <\/p>\n<p>Now I look forward to the next chapter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three years ago at this time I started this blog. I backdated some posts from earlier blogs when I started it. I was fundraising for InterVarsity and trying to increase my web presence. I had a lot of time on my hands, a lot of people who I wanted to be able to stay in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 Years Ago - A Fear of Whales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fearofwhales\/2013\/08\/3-years-ago.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Years Ago - A Fear of Whales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three years ago at this time I started this blog. 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