Spring break is officially over and here I am, back in LA getting started on my third quarter at Fuller--I can't believe how fast this year has flown! I love fresh starts, so I am actually ok with beginning another 10 weeks of classes already, and I feel like I learned a lot about studying last quarter (i.e. don't save it all for week 10!) and I am ready to try to implement that and try again. Plus, I am definitely looking forward to all my classes this quarter as opposed to last quarter where I really only loved one of them. (Ok, so maybe I am not totally looking forward to Greek, but it's not TOO bad!) Each class will stretch and push me in different ways, which I am realizing I love. I have New Testament 2 (Acts-Revelation) and Pastoral Care and Abuse in addition to Greek and my 3rd quarter of Foundations for Ministry, so it should still be a lot of work, but work that will be really good to do and invest time in. My class on Abuse is going to be intense, and probably really painful at times, I know the book I've already started reading for it is, but like our professor said today, the harsh reality of being a Pastor in a fallen world is that our churches are not full of perfect people, about 1/2 of each congregation has experienced abuse in some way, shape or form at some point in their lives and seminaries are not doing enough to prepare pastors for the reality of encountering those painful stories. So I know it is something I need to delve into even though it is a subject that is unspeakably painful and uncomfortable for most people to even talk about.
Spring break in Seattle was awesome, I got to spend about 6 days up there enjoying seeing friends, spending a lot of time with wonderful women from Bethany (which was a surprise to me, I wasn't planning on getting to have that time with them but it was amazing!), and getting to see my grandma up in Everett. And of course, time in Seattle meant lots of time spent at The Green Bean, the most amazing coffee shop in the world! Seriously, everyone should check out their website www.greenbeancoffee.org and read about them and see why they are so amazing--they are NOT your typical coffee shop! I think I went about 5 times in the 6 days I was there--it was wonderful!
Over the weekend I got to be in San Jose with my wonderful extended family celebrating my Aunt Vernita turning 40-10....you do the math, she refuses to say "50" :) 50th Birthdays on my dad's side of the family are a big deal, so my grandparents, parents, sister, and all my aunts and uncles came together to celebrate her, which was awesome. I got to spend time in Monterey on Saturday with some of them, which has always been one of my very favorite places in California, it is absolutely gorgeous for those who have not been there. Vernita and Steve's pastor and his wife, Rod and Victoria Hall came to join us for dinner Saturday night, and I loved getting the chance to talk to them and hear their story about being called into the ministry and some of Rod's experience as a Pastor. It is so refreshing and healing to meet LCMS pastors who are supportive and encouraging when they hear that I am in seminary. I have been told that not all LCMS pastors are opposed to women being in ministry, but I haven't had a ton of personal experience with them, I've just always been told that I am a woman and therefore I can't be a pastor, but in the past several months I've had the chance to meet several LCMS pastors who are wonderful and so supportive. Rod made the comment on Saturday night that this is where the LCMS needs to get their act together because by not allowing me to use my gifts and follow my calling, the whole denomination looses the gifts and some amazing women that can do wonderful things for the church. It is so encouraging to me to hear things like that and to realize that even though the denomination as a whole does not necessarily stand behind the decision I have made to attend seminary and pursue ordained ministry, there are some in that denomination that do support my decision.
The other thing I mentioned to Rod on Saturday night was how much more difficult seminary has been academically and emotionally than I thought it was going to be. I know grad school is supposed to be tough, but I had no idea how much harder it was going to be than undergrad. Rod made the comment that when he was in seminary he used to study with two good friends who were in law school at a near by campus and one day the two law students told Rod that they both agreed that seminary was a lot more difficult than their law school had been. Rod was of course, surprised by this admission and asked them why they believed that and they said because in law school you memorize a lot and you learn a lot of very specific cases, which is difficult, but in seminary a potential pastor is expected to learn a lot about a huge number of subjects (languages, systematic theology, scripture, homiletics, exegesis, pastoral care, counseling, psychology, leadership, etc) and several of these subjects are not only intellectually taxing but they tap into deep emotions and drain a student. SO, it was kind of fun to be encouraged that way and to realize that it is not just me that is feeling overwhelmed by all the information I am supposed to attain in the next 3 years!
Anyways, that is my random collection of ramblings for this week--I'm going to try to be better about posting stuff throughout the quarter, but I make no promises :)
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