Time

Time is a funny thing, isn't it? It's been on my mind a lot lately, in my daily pondering and in the class I'm taking on the lectionary and the church year. Time in the church is a strange thing because we live in this "already, not yet" kind of place, where we know Jesus has already lived, died, and raised from the dead so that we may have life. But we also live in a world of conflict and we hope for the day when God will bring about a new peaceful creation. We also celebrate these events in Jesus' life and the life of the church each year, events that have already happened, and are still happening as we live our lives and be the church. We read God's story in the Bible, but we are also part of the story. God's not done yet! The way time in the church or the church year goes also reminds us not to fall into the trap of constantly waiting for the next thing in life. I am thankful for that. I know I need to be reminded all the time to appreciate the time we're given now and take each day as a blessing, because I'm often looking forward to things coming up in the future. And then, before I know it, I blink and the days, months, years are gone.
What are you thankful for today?

Stamp of Approval

I have officially been approved for ordained ministry
in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Praise God!

Comfort

I must admit that the arrival of fall brings a tiny bit of disappointment for me, because oh, how I do love summer! So I briefly mourn the drop in temperatures and end of beach-going weather, and try to move on to the things I appreciate about fall... changing leaves, football season, sweaters and hoodies, hot apple cider, pumpkins, and cuddling up in a warm quilt. These are all things I've enjoyed recently and plan to continue to notice and take comfort in for the next few weeks. I have a break from classes next week and, in addition to seeing my family and friends back home, I am looking forward to the drive through the hills of central and western PA and what I'm sure will be an array of color. When my life gets stressful (as it has a tendency to do amidst seminary classes and candidacy), I try to take a moment to find comfort in these little things that bring me joy. Today, it came in a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup from Panera. This past weekend it came in a trip to an orchard with my roommate where we picked apples and a pumpkin and got some other delicious homemade goodies. As I write this in the middle of working on a sermon to preach in the seminary chapel later this week, I am also reminded of the comfort that I find in God's love for all of us and all of creation.

Life in transition

I have been a total slacker with my blog lately. I think its because I'm still reflecting on where I am in my life right now. My internship has ended. I left with mixed emotions... ready to get back to the city I have come to love and the people I am sharing my seminary journey with, but sad to leave the congregation I had become so invested in. The transition from full-time ministry back to full-time classes (and reading, and writing, and reading, and lectures, and reading...) has been difficult. I admit that I am somewhat of a dork and love school and learning, but my heart is yearning to be engaged in congregational ministry once again. (Now this brings up another discussion, because I do realize that "ministry" is done in many different situations and not just inside a church building. I really do try to live my life conscious of this fact. But it has helped me realize that my call is to ministry in a parish, at least for a little while anyway. And more specifically, I still have a strong passion and calling to youth ministry.) I think thats about all I can say right now. My life encompasses this tension between joy and yearning. But, in light of the sermon I heard yesterday, I focus on being grateful for now and giving thanks to God in all things.

Busy but refreshed

I've had a busy last few weeks. The most interesting things to tell about are an ecological retreat and confirmation camp. I was blessed to be part of a young adult fellowship through the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program which was an all-expenses paid retreat on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. There were about 20 of us from all over the country and from several different denominations. It was great to meet people and hear about their experiences and learn from each other. We had some interesting discussions about God and the environment and climate change and poverty. We also spent plenty of time playing outside in the marsh and the bay. We learned a lot from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. And we visited and learned about the community on Tangier Island. We worshipped together and experienced a beautiful sunrise and sunset. It was an awesome three days. Last week I got to go to the NJ Synod confirmation camp at Crossroads Outdoor Ministries. My supervising Pastor and I went along with four youth from our church. I love going to church camps and camping so I was excited to be part of the week, along with youth and other church leaders from around the state. I had a ton of fun and felt blessed to spend time with and learn from other leaders in ministry. And also to play outside and be goofy. :) Today I preached my last internship sermon, and began my last week of internship. Stay tuned!

How does your garden grow?

I thought I'd give an update on my foray into gardening this year. I did have one small setback; I wasn't quite sure when to pick the spinach and it looked to me like it still had growing to do, but it turns out that it was ready to go and since I didn't pick it, it went to seed. And at that point, it was too warm to plant more. I still have half the packet of seeds left though, so I think they can be planted when it starts to cool down again. Despite the spinach screw-up, the lettuce and green beans have been going very well. I picked my SECOND batch of lettuce today, and my first batch of green beans. Because of all the rain we had in June, the tomatoes are a little slow going, but they should come eventually. I took what I thought I would use from the beans and lettuce and then shared the rest with people at the church. Here are some pictures of my crops.

Mother-Daughter Time

I haven't posted in quite a while, but there's not too much to update you on. I did get to go home for a week of vacation at the end of May, which was wonderful. I was able to relax and spend time with my family and friends. I actually enjoyed spending a few days in my hometown (though it's not a place I would want to move back to), and I got to spend some time at camp (Lutherlyn) with Mandy, and had my first kayaking experience (on a lake, nothing too intense). After that it was back to the grind at my internship. June was spent doing most of the regular stuff I've been doing, in addition to some activities at the church wrapping up for the summer. And now we're in the middle of Vacation Bible School, which is both a lot of work and fun. Luckily for me, my part is more fun than work. :) Now that July is here, I only have a month and a half left of my internship, so I'm working on doing all the writing that comes with the end of the year (evaluation, project report, candidacy approval essay).

I did have a nice little break this past weekend, because my mom came to visit. My dad hasn't been doing great health-wise lately, so he didn't feel up to coming. So we had some nice mother-daughter time, just the two of us. She got here Friday afternoon, and left Tuesday morning. I did have to do some work while she was here (Sunday and Monday, naturally), but I was holding down the fort last week while my supervisor was on vacation, so he let me go a little light on the work while she was here. We mostly relaxed, went out to eat a couple times, and went to the beach. June was a rather rainy month here at the shore, so over the weekend was actually the first time the weather was consistently nice and I could actually go to the beach. It was pretty nice almost the whole time she was here (and now today the rain is back). I'm glad we got some good beach time in, and I'm sure my mom was too. And I'm glad she made the long drive out here so we could spend some time together.