Its a holy book, not for killing

The seen: a big Mosquito flying around the living room/kitchen area of the apartment, me at my desk watching SVU and Jestie at her desk working on homework

Mosquito: (buzz buzz buzz) I’m really super annoying and you can’t get rid of me! MWHAHAHA
Me: (look at mosquito and sigh)
Jestie: (intense staring at mosquito)
Mosquito: (BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ) MWHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!
Jestie: (leans forward and lifts head out of book completely. Grabs a copy of the TaNak, lifts it up. Then puts it back down and grabs another seminary book. )
Me: You where not just about to use the TaNak to kill the mosquito right?
Jesite: For a second, but then I knew that it was not a book of murder
Mosquito: (BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ) MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I’M STILL ALIVE AND YOU JUST ALMOST USED A HOLY BOOK TO KILL ME! MWHAHAHAHAHAH
Me: that bug will leave this room tonight

dont know much about much of anything

With my first month of seminary almost over (two more days, two more days!) I was reflecting tonight how seminary has

A. taught me to be a bit of a heretic.
B. I really don't know much about much about much of anything*
C. Romans like to bathe like Americans shop at Walmart
D. I get to pay for pearls of wisdom like the one above
E. apology's in the first few century's CE do not mean 'i'm so sorry'
F. Playing nice with others is still an important life skill
G. The stove will inadvertently just not light but still spew gas everywhere
H. Hebrew is hard, very hard. But it is starting to make sense
I. Social work as a background has and will forever more influence how I practice as a christian professional, be that good bad or indifferent its how its going to be.
J. I'm more content with myself in all aspects of who I am, more then I have been in maybe all of my entire life.



* the one thing I am still sure of is that God Loves me and everyone else and that I am 200% sure I know this to be true.

Disney = Epic Bible Storys

You have got to love a sermon where there is a mention of a Disney film. Today it was Toy Story and how each of us like Woody who has Andy’s name (his owner) on his boot. We have the name of God written not on our boots but on our hearts. She also compared toy story to the epic-ness of a bible story, which is so very true! I also suppose that you can see a lot of bible stories in Disney movies if you care to look for them there.

Woman thou are to loud!

In my class today we where discussing why Paul says that women need to be silent in church. My peer suggested that it was because women who where not siting with the men in there lives (men on one side of the house church men on the other) where yelling to there husbands for whatever reason.

Before she was finished with her thought I immediate thought that Paul was saying this because the women where in the kitchen making to much noise for Pauls liking and he got jealous. Besides at my church being allowed in the kitchen is a big deal.

Oh Paul you are quiet the character, and I sill have mixed feelings about you...

Holy Typo

On Sundays one of my many duty's at church is to prepare the power-point that goes along with the bulletin. I thought I would share with you some of my personal favorite typos

*Praise father son and holy goat{ghost)
*may the spit{spirit} be upon you

Oops...

Adventures in New Jersey: The Grocery store, fly in my dessert, and Jug Handel version

So adventuring in and around Madison and the surrounding areas has lead to some interesting conclusions


-Jug Handles, WTF? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jughandle). I have only had a few encounters with them but what the heck? The first time I went on one I thought that I had made a very illegal turn but no its totally good. I thought that NY had some weird traffic patterns but man Jug handles take the cake.

-I 287- bad on either side. This is a road that has some weird design issues. I got caught in traffic coming down to school this week. And I just about flipped a gasket and wanted to start doing some un-seminarian things

-Northwest NJ, I felt like I was driving into a seen from deliverance. Granted it was rainy and dark and in the fall with a tractor trailer smoking and clearly soon to be on fire.

-A certain chain restaurant: I went out to dinner with a long time friend and it was good. For desert I ordered a fried ice cream and I enjoyed about four bites and a fly dive boomed it. I wish that I could make this up. But what was weird about it, was that I had suddenly lost my appetite (I wonder why…) the hostess kept trying to get me a new one. It was weird and creepy.

-Grocery store- yesterday I went to a local grocery store to get eggs to make corn bread and there was a great sale on pasta. Well I was deciding the type to get, a man asked me if this was the aisle for pizza sauce. I told him that it was, and I could see that he looked like he was in pain. And in my pastoral social work way I just had to engage on it. Anyways nothing like ministry in the grocery store…

And on the 8th day...

Yesterday meeting with my mentor to go over my IRA (Inventory of Religious Activity's) sadley did not go well. It was not for his or my fault but for the fault of tecnology. My results poped up as well gibirish, but computer giberish. But the good news for me at least was that it did not said "Epic FAIL". I can deal with the minor glitches that don't weigh on my consoious as a moral or ethical delemia.

But the cartoon above just made me smile and that is the lesson of the weekend, is to put it out and up. To acknowledge that I will never be able to do it all and what matters more is that what I do is done well, and with Grace and care.

How to Pack as a Theological School Commuter

From Your family home in Westchester NY:

-gather all the clothing you think will need for the week
-do laundry
-put close outside to dry(being eco-friendly and its better for your clothing)
-wait for said clothing to dry
-leave out overnight by accident
-gather the next morning before church, discover it is still damp
-growl at said clothing
-throw clothing into dryer for 20 minuets
-watch some Law and Order SVU, and not read about Genesis
-eventually fold your laundry
-get the $.99 cent bags  from TJ Maxx THAT ARE AMAZING in all aspects of there creation
-put clothing in one, and other linen(sheets, dishtowels, ect) in other
-fight with bag falling off of couch and spilling folded, clean laundry
-repack bag
-determine what else you can not possibly live without during the week
-find textbooks that came home with you over the weekend, that even if you did not read are now all over the place
-get Ikea food bag, and raid the family pantry
-grab as much as possible in one run to your car and load
-sigh as your car looks like you are rum running during prohibition
-go to New Jersey

From your Drew Residence

-wash dishes
-find books that might get read over the weekend, load them into tote, hope you do not fall over
-gather chargers for laptop,cellphone, iPod, ect
-evaluate food stock, plan to raid pantry at home in Westchester
-find all dirty clothing stuff into bag
-clean up desk
-assess garbage situation
-load up as much stuff as possible to put into car in one trip
-almost fall back down the stairs because of the weight of said stuff
-walk to car and avoid the squirrels
-load car and sigh as your car looks like you are rum running during prohibition
-Go to Westchester

Soul Meaning

Today this popped up in my 'daily thoughts' app on iGoogle



When things do not work out as you planned, then smile at Me and say "Have Your Way then". Knowing that My Loving response will be the best for you."

-two listeners


Sometimes the thoughts are not very inspiring to me, but this one struck me. So often I feel that I know the best way about something when in reality I don't know much at all. The past few weeks have been a re-education for me. The realization that I am not an academic seminarian and sometimes have no clue what people are referencing when they talk about certain scripture references. I feel stupid and wonder 'what am I doing here!" I thought that I had bombed out on a certain paper and after doing so with at least one more post for another class I was so surprised and filled with joy and Grace when I got this response back with some positive commentary. I wanted to go run and kiss the professor for her extended thoughts. She raised a good question that I had neglected to think of with regards to my paper. It was a moment that reminded me I don't have the answers, and sometimes I don't want to have the answers. I want to learn the answers so that I can teach others to learn to seek the answers and get the ones that they need.

I also felt for a few days that my background as a social worker might be a hindrance but in reality it sets things up differently for me. I look at things from a position of empowerment. Its great to stand from the pulpit (or behind the desk) and tell people what to do or say or think but does that relay do anything in the long run? To me no its better to get away from the pulpit or the desk and give them the tools to learn and make there own calls and feelings about something be it about scripture or the big questions like 'why am I in pain'. Giving ownership transforms from a surface meaning to a soul meaning, an understanding that will last past the sermon or small group discussion. My style is always going to be different but in the end it will prove to be a strength.

And besides i've never done anything the 'prescribed way' anyways. Why change it now?

Our Women see visions, or need to get more sleep

Last night I had a dream a strange dream that I think only a seminary student would have.

Some guy talking :we should name the church 'the beatitude church!'

Others in group: yeah that sounds great!

Me: but we already have something called the Beatitude society

Others: ::silence::

Me: how about naming it 'the Salt church'. Like salt of the earth, that would get people talking

Either this is a complete sign of needing to get more sleep or, divine inspiration?

What its like to be an itinerant camper

What its like to be an itinerant camper

So I started seminary a few weeks ago. I am attending Drew Theological in Madison NJ and I am already loving it and know it to be a second home for me. Its my first semester in my first year of an M.Div (Masters of Divinity) program hopefully with an MSW in there also. This year for housing I split my time between campus and my home in Westchester County NY. So this has led to some interesting revelations already;

1. you may not have what you need at the place you are at. Case and point over the weekend I desperately needed a stapler. I own two but both where in New Jersy on my desk in my room at school, well I and my papers that need the staple where in New York. So I ended up going out and getting a new one on clearance mind you just so that one can live in NY and the others can live in NJ. Maybe one will live in my car.
2. On the note of my car, just incase it did not appear that I lived in it anyways, it does now. I love my car dearly and it and I have been on my glorious adventures from camp to undergraduate, to field placement, to home visits, to a run in with a tractor trailer. But now it looks like a cross between a closet and a tent. I love that it is good on gas because it’s a good distance between school and home
3. Traveling, I do not mind driving if its during the day, but this now takes up a significant portion of my week. Yea for books on tape!
4. Sometimes my family calls me, to ask me things that I have no clue about like where is the pasta. Family I have not been home in four days I do not know! I love them anyways
5. There are some perks with this situation.
6. 
   

Perks you say, well yes I do! I have an awesome roommate who this week made our cave of a basement room look like home! We now have almost wall to wall carpeting consisting of a rug that someone shared with us and the rest that she bought. And its like Joseph and the coat of dreams, its all kinds of different carpet textures, and colors, and sizes. It’s a good metaphor that we all need to just work it out for the greater good of covering the linoleum. I also have hot water at school and we at home currently do not. This is due to our hot water heater/oil burner/something in the closet next to my bed at home, not working. Its been 25 years since it was new, gosh the craftsmanship*. So I do enjoy some non eco friendly showers well I am here. Darn it I earn them!

Its also fun to come home on the weekends and sort of hit and run with my family and life at home in Westchester. I enjoy seeing Addy my niece on the weekends also because her grouchiness is usually gone and she’s all smiles and play time. Besides Aunty Betty is just awesome** so there is no need for grouchiness. I also because I split my time do not need to find new doctors, car care people (I love my car care people very much BTW), pharmacy, library or mall. Not that in the future I won’t need to but this is cool for now. I also enjoy meal planning now, yes I am a huge dork or nerd I’m not really sure what I am with regards to this. Anyways I sort of have no money so I’m making better food choices, it’s a side perk of a seminary education.

Also with drew being the university in the forest, its all green! Green in both senses of the word. Green because there are so many trees and the campus is a medium size. Drew also especially the theological school is super committed to being green in our actions. So they encourage us to use CFL’s, take shorter shower (opps on that front), and have started the practice of not having mammal based meat products in seminary hall. So I have not yet eaten my ham sandwege in the atrium or anything like that…

But why the title of itinerant camper. Being from the United Methodist tradition clergy move or itinerate through there time in ministry, and well I’m itinerating a lot each week. And the camper part because well I am not in a tent I feel like I am always moving my stuff that gets me through the week from one place or another, maybe it should have been itinerant sherpa. But campers only set up at one place for so long before they move on to different things.

On my first day of orientation a presenter stated a quote by a Christian bishop about ‘only setting your tent up in one place for as long as was ordained by God’. So well I may be not living in a physical tent its important to realize well I am setting roots maybe they are not the roots of mighty oaks but rather wildflowers full of color and joy that spread all over.