I'm currently waiting for my parents to fly into Boston!! YAY! But while I wait, I am thinking about what a truly surprising and awesome family God has gifted me with here in Boston. Sunday many of them came out to celebrate my birthday. I feel like this is going to be a great year! And I'm all the more confident when I look at these pictures and see who I'm surrounded by. I miss our friends and family in Tennessee-- don't get me wrong! But God has definitely provided me with family for this season as well. I hope you enjoy seeing a few of their pictures!

Take aways from my first year in seminary...

Wisely, Larry suggested we spend the first Saturday after the end of our first year reflecting. We move on so quickly-- it is good to stop and remember. What better place to stop and reflect than a fabulous coffee shop on the coast?!

Here is a sampling of the things I am remembering from finishing my first year here (in no particular order):

1. Julian of Norwich. I am certain that I will love her tremendously when given the opportunity to meet. She was recommended to me by both my spiritual director/friend in the Pierce Fellowship as well as my church history professor, Dr. Adams. I spent a significant amount of time last semester hearing from her in her autobiography, Revelations of Divine Love. The primary thing I walked away with from her testimony was the power in reflection on how the Lord has revealed himself to us.

2. The need to retell God's story. This was Dr. Carol Kaminski's commission to the graduates of GCTS this year. She is a powerful story-teller! We took her January term Old Testament Survey. It was a hard class to cover in 2 weeks, but we powerfully experienced the Lord as author of the most incredible story ever written. I especially grew to love books I had barely read before: Ezekiel is scandalous!!; Proverbs has valuable lessons; Jonah encourages us to see God's love for the Gentiles, etc.

3. A new found passion for running! We love that the people here in the Northeast are outside in every season! I have taken up running, exploring every nook and cranny of the Northshore. I have found this to not only be healthy, but relaxing, reflective, and illustrative of what it is to persevere in the Christian life. It probably should have been that my greatest feeling of accomplishment came Monday after turning in my last paper of the year; instead, it was the 4.6 mile run I made the same weekend! I especially love how ironic this is because in September, when I first started jogging, I was teaching a group of college students telling them I would never know a runner's high. I still haven't experienced it, but I feel like I'm a huge step closer!

4. The love of discovery. One of our classes, Educational Ministry in a Cultural Perspective, required an ethnography project. While our official topic was fascinating, we found ourselves discovering even more about ourselves and inter-culturally with our Korean teammate. So not only do I love baklava, I also love Korean citron tea!

5. In partnership with Julian's need to reflect, I have also discovered the gift of Sabbath rest. We were instructed by our Pierce training not just to stop-- that is only the beginning of Sabbath. But also, we need to remember, embrace who God has made us to be, and celebrate Him! Reflecting on Hebrews 6:9-11, Sue Currie encouraged us that "Sabbath gets us in touch with what's waiting for us." So we practice being who he made us to be, and celebrate him!

As mentioned, these five things are but a sampling. Deeper thoughts can be seen through previous blogs (which I posted through Gordon-Conwell's website), and there will certainly be more reflections over the summer. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own past twelve months. God's blessings to you in your pursuit of him. I would love to hear some of your favorite moments from the past year!

A better me...

... this is what she looks like:

wakes up at 6

personal devotion and prayer

run

breakfast

work full day

study full evening

doesn't need tv

doesn't need to sleep until at least 11

Can anyone do that?? I certainly can't. I hit the limit of my own strength today. This is how far I can go. Too bad that I still have a giant paper to write, an online course I haven't touched in a month, sink full of dishes, suitcases left to unpack, you get the idea.

Does the person above exist? I kind of feel like moms have some of those super human abilities. But really, I can't even make my own schedule work in my own strength. So rather than trying to catch up to Jesus who feels like a million miles ahead of me, I'm going to try just to walk with him for the day. Maybe I'll get a bit further. Maybe I will feel fulfilled rather than exhausted. Rejoice rather than wallow. And maybe even catch 30 minutes of Biggest Loser.

Be encouraged.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matt 11:28- Message

Overwhelmed... unbiblical?

Some of you may know that life's been crazy here. So crazy, in fact, that one of my friends brought us dinner tonight because our fridge is down to nothing. We had our last can of black beans for lunch today and ate Dominoes for 2 days... seriously. And there's no grocery shopping time to be had. (Don't worry, Mom-- I'll go this weekend.)

I did have a moment to read through today's entry in My Utmost for His Highest that I highly (ha) recommend. It convicted me to the degree that I've taken a break from writing a paper to write about this to you and to myself.

Here's the entry- out of context- that caught my attention:

"Begin with the circumstances we are in-- our homes, our business, our country, the present crisis as it touches us and others-- are these things crushing us? Are they badgering us out of the presence of God and leaving us no time for worship?"...

Um... yes? Unfortunately, yes. Monday, I was blessed by a time with college students that I didn't want to have-- I wanted to be in the library-- but God really met me in worship there. And he changed my attitude from being one that lashed out at even my husband and centered me again on the reason for being here at seminary. But I'm back in this rut just a few days later, and I feel justified in my lack of attention to worship! Come on-- my fridge is empty because I don't have time to fill it. I'm justified, right?! Back to Oswald...

..."We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, consequently we get so burdened with persons and with difficulties that we do not worship God, we do not intercede. If once the burden and the pressure come upon us and we are not in the worshipping attitude, it will produce not only hardness toward God but despair in our own souls."

Whew. No wonder I was crying last night over my Interpreting the New Testament paper. Come on, Megs. And I encourage you, too, to come with me back into a posture of worship that we might be able to surrender to God our burdens and pressures. I hope this song helps lead you into God's presence now.

School Blog

I know I haven't been posting, but it's primarily because my blogging energy goes into the posts I've been doing for the school's blog. If you're interested in my school-related musings, you should check it out!