**I discovered the wonderful world of Grey's Anatomy, which started mostly because it takes place in Seattle but grew as I became attached to the characters--and realized that the whole show is about a group of 20-somethings trying to figure out their paths in life, trying to find love, figure out who they are, and what their callings are....hmm....I wonder why we all like it so much?! (Ok so Dr. McDreamy, the drama, the relationships, and the witty writing doesn't hurt....)
**I managed to make trips to Houston in August, September, November, March, and April and have loved my time with my extended family that I have created there.
**I got to start preaching, which has been an amazing experience, and have found myself more and more confirmed in my call as a pastor.
**I discovered that laundry is a fabulous chore to do while studying because you are guaranteed a 5 minute break every 45 minutes or so when it's time to go switch loads. I think I did one load at a time all day yesterday (it had been awhile, I had a lot of loads to do!) to keep me focused and motivated to study systematics!
**I have come to love the Presbyterian Church (USA) admist all it's struggles and controversies. My class winter quarter on Presbyterian History showed me that the PC(USA) is a church that has always had debates and arguments, for it's entire history, and that is GOOD because it means that we wrestle with issues, we don't simply take things at face value and ascribe to them without debating all sides. I've learned that we may disagree on the interpreations of scripture, on hot topics such as abortion, homosexuality, or the ordination of women, but I've also learned that this is a church serious about the Great Comission and is working to make disciples. I learned that being reformed means we believe that we are constantly being reformed. God didn't stop speaking and doing new things at the Reformation--we believe the Spirit is alive, is active, and is constantly challenging us to look at things in new ways, to embrace aspects of the culture in order to enter in to dialogue with those of other denominations and religions all together. I've learned that I am VERY reformed and covenantal in my theology, which is great to be able to say confidently!
**I've discovered I love taking power naps every afternoon, they really are a wonderful thing!
**I discovered some fabulous new books this year--books that aren't tough to read, that I would highly recommend to anyone to enjoy--especially:
**I was asked to join the Company of New Pastors which I am VERY excited about. The PC(USA) recognized awhile ago the disturbing statistic that new pastors tend to leave the ministry after only an average of 5 years--this is after spending 3-4 years getting their MDiv. There were a bunch of studies done, and one wise pastor said that he didn't think it was necessarily a result of burn out or poor training, but rather something spiritual was going on. So he helped to create the Company of New Pastors (CNP). He chose 5 seminaries (4 PCUSA schools and Fuller--which is a bit scandelous to some in the denomination since Fuller is NOT one of the 9 PCUSA seminaries nation-wide but we actually graduate more PCUSA students than any other seminary besides Princeton) to participate. Each year, the school selects 10 Presbyterian students who are pursuing ordained ministry within the church and are in their 2nd year of their MDiv degree. Those 10 students meet together once a month (we met for the first time last week and will resume our monthly meetings in the fall) to discuss theology, the Presbyterian confessions, and explore the 9 ordination vows we will be asked to answer some day at our ordinations. The 10 of us also covenant to daily prayers (we are using prayers from the Presbyterian Book of Worship), daily scripture reading from the church lectionary, and daily readings from the Presbyterian book of confessions. The goal of the program is to help instill in us a habit of a personal devotional life before we end up in a church somewhere. In the fall the 10 of us from each of the 5 schools will get flown to the denominational headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky for a weekend to meet with the other students from around the country, and then the goal is to wait until we are in our future churches and they will match us with other new pastors and a mentor pastor in that new geographical location for accountability and mentoring. I am very excited about being asked to participate, but I have to admit, it was a bit crazy receiving a plaque for the wall that says "Company of Pastors" on it, but I am slowly becomming more and more used to the term and title of Pastor as I am growing in my understanding of this call. (Although when someone at church recently introduced me to a new visitor and said "this is one of our pastors" I immediately turned around to see if Ross was standing behind me. He wasn't.)
**I discovered the joys of blockbuster online and have had the chance to see some fabulous new movies....some of my new favorites are:
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