The Class I Took

Some of you may remember that this past fall, I took a class.  Me.  I took a class.  It was every Tuesday night from 7:00pm-9:45pm for 15 weeks.  Even at the auditing level, there were several hours of reading to do each week.  This was quite a leap for me.  I was a little bit anxious about what this class might do to me.  And, rightly so.

This class changed my life.

I'm not saying this flippantly.  Not like I might say, "This dessert changed my life", because I've been know to say things like that.  I really mean this.  This class changed me.

I think about my life and future differently.  I think about the world differently.  I read the Bible differently.  I think about people all over the world differently.  I think about God differently.  I'm talking real change.

So why am I only writing about it now?  I've wondered this myself and have finally come to the realization that I've been hesitant to write because I'm afraid I won't do this class justice.  I know (even now as I write) that I will not be able to put into words something that I feel in my heart and gut.  But, what would be worse than not doing this class justice would be to keep this class to myself.

The class is called Perspectives.  (Yes, it's title inspired the name of my other blog, Perspective.)  It is offered all over the world and even online.  If you have a computer, you have access to this class.

I was drawn to this class because I wanted to expand my focus.  As many of you know, spending almost all your time staying at home caring for children, working a garden and making much of your food from scratch can cause you to turn inward, to forget about the world going on around you.  Forgetting about the world can be bliss, but is it responsible?

What I found through this class was not how to determine what my interests are outside the home, but to determine what God's interests are and then to align myself with those.  It is so important to me that anything I read or listen to that's inviting me to change my life be Bible-centered.  This class is that through and through.

I cannot begin to tell you how the readings inspired me.  How the teaching walked me through the Bible from beginning to end, helping me see the whole over-arching message of the Bible and how God's purpose that is outlined in the beginning is carried out through time.  This purpose and the carrying out of His plan are unstoppable.   With or without us, it will go on until completion.  But God invites us to join Him.  How can we decline?  Instead of accepting out of fear or guilt, I accept this invitation out of joy and love.  And I didn't always have those two things the way I do now.  I have this class and it's speakers to thank for that.

If you are interested, and I pray that you are, please visit Perspectives' website here.  Take your time, browse around.  Watch the videos.  Pray about this.  Take this seriously.  It will change you and you will be thrilled.

Let me say one more thing.  This class and it's message mean so much to me that I cannot just say, "That was a great class" and leave it be.  Instead, I have volunteered to contribute to the planning of next year's class in our area and am searching out ways to introduce it to our church congregation.

Did I mention that it changes you?