New Beginnings

These past few days I've been reflecting on new beginnings. It is the start of the new semester at seminary and my course load is heavy, but all things I am genuinely interested in. I'm taking Theology I, Exegesis of Matthew, Contemporary Homiletics, along with interning at a church for my supervised ministry. There is an incredible amount of reading involved for Theology and Homiletics, and just plain work for Greek. What a wonderful time for learning to balance my life: class work, reading, church time, time for Sabbath and friends. Life is starting to get interesting now.

I'm happy about being at my church. There is so much I want to learn and participate in, so I need to learn how to properly set my office hours and stick with them. This is a nearly impossible task for pastors, but I am hoping as a pastoral intern I can do it. I'm really jazzed about having the opportunity to work with an emerging young adult ministry program. This is an area that makes me feel passionate about the work of God. My passion is here- being on the journey with fellow young adults, preaching and teaching the Word. There is a real richness here and I want to help cultivate it in them and also in myself. What a invaluable experience this next year of my life will be!

The other area of new beginnings is my dad's search for a new call. He called last night to share with me a list of churches seeking new staff members. I like three of the five places he mentioned. I am earnestly praying for direction for him. This is a major decision, since this will likely be the last church he will serve. My dad is a wonderful man and a profound example of what it means to serve God and the church.

There were also new beginnings for those in this country who lost people five years ago on Sept. 11th. This is the fifth year anniversary of the tragic event, and some are now just beginning to move on with their lives. I cannot even begin to imagine the emotions and thoughts in their minds! I read about children who lost parents or family- and all they really want to do is begin to move on from the events of five years ago. It is hard for them to see all of the media obsession with the events that happened not only then but what has happened since that fateful day. What does this say about us as a media savvy country? Can we now begin to move on? Or will that ever happen?

Whatever the new beginnings are in your life, my prayers are with you. New beginnings can be really scary, but the door is open now. All you can do is trust in God's mercy and keep walking. Thanks be to God.

Back in the family

An update: my lightheadness has gone away! I visited a neurologist about a week and half ago, and he told me it is a symptom of migraine headaches (which I have). So, I have proper meds and a diet to follow. Life is good once again!

I just got back to Atlanta from a week at home with the family in TN. Wow. I am really glad to get back here! Not that I don't love my family, but I really love my life here. We start the fall semester this week, which should be great. I love the classes I'm taking and it will be fantastic to catch up with all my classmates who've been gone over the summer.

I've been thinking lately about the family. Family is not just your biological/adoptive family. It is the people you surround yourself with- friends and others in your life. I have this group of people here at the seminary who I am close with. Even though, sometimes we are separated- I know I can always go back there. They are the Hebrew track students of 2005. We have a bond that I don't think can really ever be broken, even if there is distance between us. Although, I am branching out and do things with lots of people here, I know I can fall back and know they are there to catch me, and I am there to catch them.

I guess what I am trying to say...is it's nice to be back in the family.

Musings

Less than two weeks left of Greek. Thank the Lord! I literally can't fit anything else inside my head. I'm looking forward to going home and preaching at my home church. I'm a little scared of preaching in front of my parents. They have never heard me preach- neither has the rest of the congregation. It will be a wonderful experience. If I wasn't so focused on learning Greek, I would be working on that sermon.

I saw Talladega Nights last night. That is hands down the funniest movie I have ever seen!! My favorite quote is from one of Ricky Bobby's sons "man, Dad, you made that grace your bitch!". There were so many good one liners. If you've not seen it, you need to! It's worth the 7.50 to see it in the theater.

Thoughts at the end of the week

Thank goodness it's Friday! I've successfully survived another week of Greek school. I must admit that my brain is way too full of paradigms and the 23 forms of "the"!! But, the weekend is for rest and relaxation- and that's my plan! Honestly, I think I'll be camped out on my couch this afternoon watching The West Wing. I need the rest.

I was discouraged by comments by a classmate of mine after receiving the quiz back. This person was complaining about missing six points for a small mistake- nothing major and announcing that a perfect grade was screwed up by a stupid mistake. While I did well on the quiz and I knew I had made some mistakes, I felt worse by the comments. I must continue to remind myself that I don't need to compare myself to anyone else! But, it is human nature, especially within these walls of CTS. I can understand how this person felt- I make stupid mistakes all the time, but it does impact others when you talk about it out LOUD. In the grand scheme of life, Greek quiz grades do not matter. That's why I'm not letting this quiz grade get to me!

On a lighter note, chapel today was amazing! I love when children are leaders in worship. They have some wonderful gifts to share with the church, and I love when those gifts are highlighted. The best moment was when Teddy (who's only three) was "dancing" around on the platform in the front of the chapel during the moment of wonder. It was priceless. He is the cutest kid- and when you are three, that's all you want to do in front of lots of people. It was a wonderful distraction from all the Greek stuff- a great way to remind you why you are here studying Greek. Children have a great way of teaching and reminding us of what really matters. A smile on the face of a kid handing you a cup of goldfish crackers is a wonderful moment of grace and love.

And thanks be to God!

Another day

So, it's another day here in Atlanta. And it's HOT! The worst part is that I have no motivation to do my Greek homework. It's not that I don't understand it, I'm just unmotivated. So, I'm distracting myself by watching The West Wing on DVD- not the most productive thing in the world. Oh well! Such is life.

The funniest thing today was the new student IDs. Last week, we all had our pictures taken for the Greek school directory. A bunch of us decided to have a little fun and all wear this pink scarf in different ways for the pictures. I decided to wear it over my head and covering the lower part of my face. It was a really funny picture- actually all of them were! Little did I know that all of us were getting student IDs- not just the new students. So, I got my new student ID in my box this afternoon, and it was this crazy picture. Then, our dean of students called me a terrorist in front of one of the professors! The joke is getting out of hand! This new ID simply cracks me up and is providing for a few laughs around the campus. Glad I could be of service!

My thoughts as I begin this

There are so many people here at CTS with blogs, so I thought I'd join in. I'm a 2nd year student at Columbia Theological Seminary, and currently I am learning Greek. I really love it! I must admit that it is eaiser for me than Hebrew by far! This community is changing with new students beginning this summer- and they are wonderful! I'm excited to see how the community will function this fall when we are all back.

I've heard some wonderful sermons here at the CTS chapel this past week. David Bartlett and Chuck Campbell preached two fantastic sermons that remind me of why I am here. I love those moments where I am reminded of my purpose in going to seminary and why I want to serve as a leader in the church. One of the scriptures was 1 Corinthians 14:15 (the name of my blog)- it reminds me that my learning here does serve a greater purpose as I prepare to enter into the ministry- praising with both my spirit and my mind. Also, there needs to be balance- to praise with and enrich my spirit along with my mind. So powerful.

Lately, I've been thinking about the current situation in the Middle East and also the recent developments at General Assembly of PC(USA). What are we all fighting about? I think, deep down, there is this overwhelming sense of fear of the unknown and the other. Fear. It's a very powerful thing. We need to teach young people to not fear "the other" ~ there are more similarities between people than differences when you take the time and effort to get to know people. I'm really scared for the future right now- there are so many people dying, in the way of harm. What is going to happen? I don't know...

I pray for the people in Israel, Syria, Lebanon- ALL PEOPLE in the Middle East and around the world who live in harm's way. Also, prayers for those in our church who are seeking a call, but are being denied for reasons of sexual orientation. Lord, I hope we can move beyond fearing the other.