This semester

I am really really enjoying this semester. Once I get myself motivated to read I actually enjoy my reading for the most part. It's crazy... and very exciting. It seems like when ever i get a little down about what ministry will hold for me ( last night's down moment came when talking about BOM interviews) I read something for one of my classes that inspires me. Last night and this morning I was reading about ecotheology and I really enjoyed it.. It was a whole new perspective that I never really thought about.

Today is my looooooonnnnnnngggg day.... but I'm ready


PS If you have not read the Secret Life of Bees you must I repeat you MUST read it.. I am reading it right now (in between school stuff) and it is awesome.

worried

I am worried what the world is coming to...I am worried about the generation behind mine. how in the world are they going to help take care of me? How are they going to take care of the future?

They are afraid of discipline. If they don't get their way they complain until they do. What are they going to do in the real world. A world where if your boss tells you to do something and you don't like you either do it or you get fired ( and I'm talked about things within the realm of your job not something that should never be asked of you).

I'm worried that "when life gets tough the tough get going" is only a saying of the past. In the future the saying is going to be when life gets tough we complain or just quit.

And I'm not talking about even finding another way or another path, but instead just simply give up.

We are headed to a scary place if we don't start teach children that discipline is a part of life. The they both will be disciplined and they need to have discipline.

I'm worried....

Friday Five

Dante had Virgil as a guide. Before he had younger siblings, my oldest child had an imaginary friend named Patrick. Betsy had Tacy. Laura Ingalls depended on her brindle bulldog, Jack. All of them were companions on the way.

As we take the beginning steps of our journey through Lent, who would we take as a companion? Name five people, real or imaginary, you might like to have with you as guide or guardian or simply good friend.



So here are my Five this was a hard one
1. Michelle... she is very good at being a supportive friend
2. Uncle Clarence just because I'd be happy to be able to spend time with him
3. Andrea cause she makes me laugh
4 . Mrs. G, my 8th grade spanish teacher, because if she can help me survive my 8th grade year and everything beyond she could help me throough anything
5. Beth, my friend from home, because matter what the sitution is or how much time has passed between our conversations she is always there

Another Blog to check out

Melissa over at Going on to perfection has had some good posts lately. Actually a lot of them are links some are useful some are funny but you should defintely check them out! (and no she did not ask me to do this!)

Lent

I figure with everyone else posting their leten practices i should as well. Comunity support and prayer is always helpful. This year for lent I'm picking something up and giving something up.

This year for Lent I'm fasting on Mondays. I picked monday becasue it is a day not filled with classes to distract me. I can really spend time in prayer.

I'm picking up going to the gym 3-4 times a week. I have slacked off in my gym time. Being heathly is the only way I'm going to survive school and future ministry so I figured lent was a good time to pick it back up

One Bad thing

The one bad thing about being a seminarian is sometimes you are so busy studying about theology, religion, and faith that you forget your own... I have worked really hard my first semester and almost a half to be aware of this. I know it's only 9:30 am but i really think if i hadn't looked at the revgals web site I would have forgotten today is Ash Wed. I guess it really is some time for reflection!

Friday Five!

reverendmother here... It seems like this topic has been done before, but I can't find it in the archives, so......

I am downtown on retreat this week. Most of the retreatants are from out of town, so I get to experience this place through the eyes of visitors. So in the spirit of tourism:

1. What is one place you make sure to take out-of-town guests when they visit? (you can be vague to preserve your anonymity if you like) Congress Park without a doubt

2. When visiting another city or town, do you try to cram as much in as possible, or take it slow and easy? depends on if I know I will be back I perfer totake it slow and easy but if it's likely i won't be back I see as muchas I can

3. When traveling, where are we most likely to find you: strolling through a museum, checking out the local shopping, or _________________? Checking out the local parks, then the museums.. And most defintely the RESTURANTS

4. Do you like organized tours and/or carefully planned itineraries, or would you rather strike out and just see what happens? Strike it out on my own!!!

5. After an extended trip, what do you find yourself craving most about home? Normally I hate to leave a place... if i have to chose something it's a sense of being in my own place and staying put

Two Things

OK First, sometimes I think my classmates forget that we are at a theological seminary in a Master's program. Yes your previous thoughts and knowledge are going to be challenged. Yes you are going to be asked to think about things in a different way. Yes you are going to be given information and ideas that may make you uncomfortable. No you do not have to let go of your Sunday school version of Jesus in the Bible you just have to be able to express why you find those thoughts valid and I'm sorry in academia the answer "Because the Bible says so" is just not an acceptable answer.

It is driving me crazy. First of all Drew does not really bill itself as anything less then it is. In fact apparently we aren't even the most liberal of the UM seminaries so really it is OK. Secondly we are in an academic setting we are going to be given scholarly information and are going to be asked to think in an academic manner. Yes church traditions have values. Yes I still hold on to some of mine, but now with a better understanding of why.

I will admit Drew tends to be pretty liberal and we do challenge a lot of the traditional church held ideas. But I don't hear anyone saying we aren't going to let you graduate if you don't believe or agree with everything we have say or have taught you. In fact it is exactly the opposite. you will not graduate if you have not learned to or do not think for yourself.

OK enough with the ranting....
I actually heard some uplifting news today. The Bishop from my annual conference (troy) was visiting Drew today. We were having lunch and one of my classmates asked about why she thought we were losing numbers so drastically and one of the things that she said that struck me the most was because we aren't starting new churches. I was impressed that was her answer. I think we she is right. there is definitely room and need for some of our older congregations. But there is a huge amount of room for new growth and starting with a fresh new church is a great to do that. I hope she can be a prominent voice in this movement to stat new churches. That would be amazing!

So much for snow...

So while the rest of the northeast is covered with snow we here Madison only got a little bit of snow and a little bit of ice. Needless to say not enough to cancel classes :-(. I was at least hoping my morning class would be cancelled so I got up when the alarm went off and checked my e-mail. here was an e-mail that said We will have class (darn)...

I do like my classes it's just wed is my long day. I'm in class from 9:55am - 8:15 pm with an hour break for chapel/lunch and only a 15 minute break between classes. I did my schedule so it's my own fault. But dang to have break this morning would have been nice.

Although I have to say I do look forward to my systematic class. I'm actually understanding the reading and like what the authors have to say so I can't wait to hear where the discussion goes.

Well I'm off to class....

Happy snow day to those who have one!

Friday Five!

From Revgalblogpals

Yes, it's true. I've been watching Season Six of American Idol with my daughter, our first time dipping into this particular well of pop culture. In the spirit of believing you can do anything, as the auditioners so clearly do, please fill in the following five blanks.

1) If I could sing like anyone, it would be ________.

2) I would love to sing the song _________________.

3) It would be really cool to sing at ____________.

4) If I could sing a dream duet it would be with ___________.

5) If I could sing on a TV or radio show, it would be __________________.


Any of you who know me in the least are going to know my answers to this especially the first one!

1. THE ONE THE ONLY BETTE MIDLER
2. My favorite Bette Midler song Stay with Me
3. SPAC ( Saratoga Proforming Arts Center)
4. James Taylor or Jack Johnson but first and fore most BETTE herself
5. The View (alot of the other revgals had Garrison Keillor and i have to agree there too)

I have say some of these answers were pretty hard seing how as child i either wanted to be a supreme, a harlette, or one of tina turners back up singers. and maybe i still do just a little bit... to bad i can't sing

Life as a theologian

So I am really enjoying my classes this semester. I fell like I am really doing theology. And I am actually liking it. Thoroughly enjoying it! Religion and the social process ( aka oppression 101) is great and thought provoking. The class that I was moot worried about I just came from, Systematic theology with Dr.Catherine Keller. First I was very,very nervous and anxious about taking a class with Dr. Catherine Keller. But really like it. It has already in two classes really broadened my thoughts of religion and on tradition and especially about language. Right now I am just so excited and enthusiastic that I can't fully explain it in words.
I must I was very excited when Dr.Keller said that I had an interesting and really good thought. I especially proud because it took me hours and hour of reading and rereading of Barth and Tillich to get to that thought. But i was at least happy that the hours of reading paid off and I really did understand.

where i am theologically...

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 89% Modern Liberal 75% Charismatic/Pentecostal 64% Classical Liberal 61% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 57% Roman Catholic 50% Neo orthodox 43% Reformed Evangelical 11% Fundamentalist 0% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com So I am a little surprised at my scores.. Not so much the post modernism but more the Pentecostal was so high and Wesleyan was so low... should i be worried?

Semester Number 2

Ok so i am already writing in my Blog while my away message says that i am reading new testament...

But any way this will be a quick post. i am really looking for ward to this semester. Which is a bit surprising because over the break I was definitely more nervous about it then I was excited. Now I have had all of my classes at least once and I can say that I am looking forward to it. I am taking New Testament with Dr. Stephen Moore, Systematic theology with Dr Catherine Keller, Ministry in Non-parish settings with Dr. David Graybeal, and Religion and Social Process with Dr. Laurel Kearns. And I didn't mention my professors to brag but just to point how awesome our faculty is here at Drew.

I think the courses are going to have really interesting discussions . I have a great group of classmates. With very diverse theological backgrounds and stances. OK so now I am really off to do work!

Guatemala Trip, Part 2

Dr Phil in the supply room (all donations) at Salud y Paz medical clinic
Children playing on the scale at Patalupe

Swimming in the chilly volcano lake

We did a lot of visiting of medical clinics. That was really interesting to see the level of medical care the these clinics provide. Each of the clinics had their own story. The one in patalupe was started by a man who had to travel (walk)four hours in order to get help for his family. At first his village resisted the idea of him starting a clinic because they thought he was just trying to look at their bodies. But he went and got training and starting running the clinic out of his house. Soon he came into contact with missionaries from the US and he with their help starting building a church and clinic. The clinic is run purely on donations. He has several volunteers, and medical missionaries come a few times a year to dental wok, and lab work and general practice type stuff.

The second clinic that we went to was an empty building for a long time that was taken over by a former Texan. He came down on a medical mission and decided to stay. He now has surgical teams that come down four times a year. Volunteers that work there some hired and trained native staff. It is just amazing. They also do a lot of educational stuff there too. A lot of training of women about health and nutrition for themselves and their families. These women don't even have names for their body parts.

It was hard to see the amount of poverty and the hardships that the people face. Their government is still very corrupt. So it is very much an up hill battle.

We did have some pleasure time at the Posada Santigo Atitlan. It was this amazing hotel and gorgeous property and access to the most beautiful volcano lake.

I loved every minute of it. I am definitely looking into going back possibly for the summer.

Everyone should go on a mission trip to experience another culture.