Praying for Northern Illinois University...

Today a gunman who had previously been a graduate student in sociology at NIU last spring opened fire on a geology lecture at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. He killed five students and injured 2 dozen more before committing suicide.

What kind of terrible disservice must we be doing to our students to compel them to this kind of horrific act, less than one year after Virginia Tech?? How can we be so blind to their needs so as to not reach out before it's too late? These questions seem insurmountable in the face of such tragedy...but we have to start thinking about it now before it is too late again and we lose more of God's children in the face of desperate violence.





"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." -Psalm 23

This Little Old Coffeeshop

It seems that as far as great moments go, this coffee shop, called It's a Grind, has the market cornered. Let me tell you what I mean...

On more than one occasion when I have been here there has also been a group of people from what I can guess is probably a group home or community-living center (similar perhaps to what Devereaux used to be in Santa Barbara) out for an hour or so. This group comes in, accompanied my a social worker and they create their own little community here in the coffee shop. To be honest, I get kind of jealous. I got the incredible chance to work with developmentally disabled adults when I was in high school at a summer camp and fell in love with them. If you've ever had a conversation with me about developmental disabilities, you'll know that it is one thing I am impassioned about...providing compassionate, adequate, and invested care, not just physical and mental, but also emotional and spiritual. And so when I see this group of people come in, all with their own apparent ailments yet caring for one another, conversing, and even smiling at me, the stranger in the corner, I am reminded of what I love about these people. They love one another in spite (or perhaps because) of their physical and mental difficulties. They watch out for one another and laugh at each other's jokes. They have invested in a community of their very own without even knowing it. And to the outside world, to me at least, they are in a place I would very much like to be in. That being said, I wonder why we, who have just as many problems, though they may not be as obvious, have such a difficult time of investing in one another. It gives me hope for the future though...

Today an old couple was wandering around the coffee shop looking for a place to sit, seeing as all the tables are taken. It was obvious in the way they walked together that they have loved each other for a very long time. The way they are sitting now, close together, nearly on the edge of their seats, positioned at a perpendicular angle to one another, says that they still are not tired of each other and that they both believe there is more to be learned about the other. It makes me happy, to know that this couple is still in love with one another and looking forward to every day they have together. They are the kind of couple that makes me excited to get married, grow old with someone and share every day of my life with them, knowing that at the end of it, we will still both believe there is more to be shared.

Thank heavens for this little old coffee shop.







"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." -T.S. Eliot

Better Late Than Never...

Current Princeton Temp: 25 degrees

I think the beginning of a new semester is the best time to tell you all about the last one (and by that I mean my first semester, and the most recent one) of my grad school career. Just the bones here (it's too late for anything more)...classes, professors, likes and dislikes. So, here goes...

• Church History 101, taught by Drs. Kathleen McVey and Paul Rorem. It turned out OK, but not my favorite course.
• Orientation to Old Testament Studies, taught by Drs. Jacqueline Lapsley and Dennis Olsen. Great class, lots of information, and a captivating course on the OT, but I was frustrated that I took it, especially when I realized I didn't need to because I could have gotten advanced placement. Grrr...oh well. You live and you learn.
• Introduction to New Testament Greek, taught by Dr. Shane Berg. Interesting course, and I like the idea that I can pick up the Greek New Testament and read it, or I'll be able to at the end of this semester. Tedious work, but I imagine it will be worth it.
• Pluralism, Dialogue, and Witness, taught by Dr. Richard Young. A history of religions course that would have been more aptly named "Christiantity and the Abrahamic Religions" since that was most of what we talked about. Not at all what I was expecting.
• The Self in the System, taught by (although in this case, perhaps the word moderated or facilitated by would be more appropriate) Dr. Robert Dykstra. Great course in pastoral counseling where we looked at several methods of addressing issues related to pastoral counseling. This course included a peer counseling component where we were both counseled by a peer and counseled a peer for 5 weeks...both terrifying and rewarding.

Like I said, the new semester starts soon..7.5 hours to be exact. I'm excited about this semester...oh, but I can't tell you about that yet. ;-) I've got to make you all wait with baited breath. I promise to be more...timely...with this type of thing this semester.

Also speaking of last semester, prayers of thanksgiving are in order. I've received back all but one of my grades and have gotten all A's and B's so far. I'm relieved and thankful...not to mention that working hard on finals and then getting good grades is a great motivator!






"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." -Albert Einstein (a Princeton man himself)

Winding down

Current Princeton Temp: 34 and snowing =)

This is me, just coming up for air between finals. I am 80% done with my first round in grad school. That's a good feeling...the one and only left is Old Testament, which I've started (barely) prepping for. It's on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30, and by 5:30 at the latest (5:35 if you take into account packing up my "Relax" lotion, Kleenex, and pens, putting on my scarf, coat and gloves, and walking out of the building) I will be free from all the testing, with one semester of grad school firmly under my belt. I'm excited for that moment. I've been looking forward to it for several weeks now, particularly when I realized how drastic of a change I had made in my life over the past few months and how I was longing to just feel...settled. That isn't quite the right feeling, but it's close. I'm looking forward to know I can make it, that I can survive a semester because surviving this one means I have a pretty good chance of surviving the next one and so on.

Since I am tired because I haven't gotten much sleep (I had my church history final this morning...3 hours long, and then a paper for my religious pluralism class due this afternoon) I'm going to go to bed early tonight and get cracking early tomorrow on my prepping for OT. Prayers, as always during exam time, are coveted as are encouragements, however brief they may be. It's always good to be reminded of why I'm doing this.

Blessings on you all!

"WORTHY"

By Michael Halleen

"Bring the best robe and put it on him,…" (Luke 15:22)

Pete was one of my best friends in high school. He was an only child, the kind of kid on whom some parents dote. Mr. and Mrs. T. would do anything for Pete. When he went off to Harvard, his parents, despite being cramped in a condo, maintained his room just as it was, pennants and posters in place. It was Pete's room…always.

Pete had a dog, an old black lab named Frankie, who had been his pet from the time he was a young boy. I used to visit Mrs. T. occasionally when I was in the neighborhood to pick up the latest news about Pete. At each of my visits, lying on his rug in the corner of the living room, there was Frankie—ugly, old, half-blind, unable to do more than totter around because of arthritis. He was neither useful nor ornamental. Once I made an uncomplimentary remark about the dog, and Mrs. T. said, "Mike, Frankie's no burden to us. We'll love him till he dies because he's Pete's dog." This totally dependent, odd-looking creature had meaning, dignity and worth in their eyes just because he belonged to the son they adored.

The father of the prodigal told his servants to put the best robe on the boy when he returned home — and a ring and some good sandals too. Having done everything wrong and on a fast track to nowhere, the son finally had decided that throwing himself on the pity of his father was his only hope of survival. Instead of pity he found love. His father saw past the mistakes and recognized one whom he adored—worthy of care and of the best gifts he could offer.

A seminary classmate, a Coast Guard veteran, had a hard time with his studies in his first year out of the service. He kept a dress uniform in his closet, and sometimes in the midst of a rough afternoon in the library, he said he was going home to polish his medals. I know that at least once he put them on again. It was his way to reestablish a sense of worth.

An old dog, a runaway boy, a struggling student — bring out the best for them! Each was worthy. We can be encouraged to know that, like them, we — whether old and past our prime, or detoured on a path sideways to our best interests, or just feeling inadequate to the expectations laid on us — are worthy too.

-courtesy of Mikey's Funnies

OT...

Current Princeton Temp: 36
Currently Wishing: That the OT Midterm would be DONE!

When I get overwhelmed, or stressed, or frustrated I tend to just stop. I stop working, thinking, writing, reading, doing until I can find some kind of outlet. This outlet usually involves tears. I have an Old Testament midterm on Tuesday morning at 8:00. In case you've never picked up the Old Testament, there's a lot there to be learned. Welcome to my life.

I sat in the choir concert last night, listening to the Seminary Singers sing "Sicut Cervus." As I listened and sang along in my head (since I know the song by heart from having learned it this summer to sing in Italy with the Santa Barbara Choral Society) I also fought back intense anger and frustration (and more tears). Why? Well, here's the thing: I got into Seminary Singers this year, back when we all auditioned for choir. Martin Tel, the choir director, doesn't cut people from Chapel Choir, but he has always had a group that comes out of it, called Seminary Singers which is done by audition. This year, there were too many people so he simply created Seminary Singers into a completely different, separate, by-audition choir of a mere 20 people...and to my complete and utter surprise, I got into it. I was ecstatic. But, due to previous commitments I had made for this past weekend (which was also the weekend of our fall concert), I chose to give it up and sing in Chapel Choir for the fall semester or until someone (an alto, that is) decided to leave Seminary Singers at which point Martin had agreed to place me at the top of the list so I'd be the first one to go back in.

Based on the fact that I was in the concert, you could deduce that my plans for this weekend fell through. I was terribly upset, for more than one reason. Not only was I missing the chance to be in Santa Barbara sooner rather than later, be at a friend's wedding, and see my mom and friends close to my birthday, I also was giving up this chance to sing "Sicut Cervus" again and as part of a small, wonderful group. And it brought back this flood of emotion and memories from this summer, of good times spent with wonderful friends, traveling to far-away places, singing in the most gorgeous of spaces, and of course, eating gelato.

All good memories aside, I made it through the concert, including my solo in one of the most beautiful songs I've ever sung, and made it to get ice cream afterward. I have to admit though, I'm glad this weekend is over. And I'll be even more so when Tuesday morning is over. (Prayers would be appreciated to that end.)





"Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it." -Albert Smith

Happy Birthday to me...

Current Princeton temp: 49
Currently Reading: birthday cards and Facebook wall messages
(Graffiti courtesy of Megan Phillips...thank you!)

My birthday is usually a very happy, fun, and "normal" occasion. This year, it's a little more..."un-normal". Please don't misunderstand my difficult feelings about my birthday as grumbling towards any of you who have sent or may send birthday wishes my way; those are in fact the things I am most happy about today! Rather, my birthday this year is difficult because I am away from (most) of those whom I love dearly and miss terribly and in being so, and reminded of how deeply and wonderfully our friendships and relationships with family have gone in my 24 years. I'm used to having a big dinner with my really close friends, I'm used to seeing my mom on my birthday and to her insisting on getting a Costco-sized cake no matter how many or few people are coming to celebrate, and I'm used to being in a familiar place on my birthday.

Yet, even though I may seem sad that it's my birthday this year, or may be struggling with how that feels and the difficulty of being separated from my loved ones, please know that I appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and especially your birthday wishes. I know that each day is a gift from God, even the difficult ones, and that my birthday is one the cherish. Today I am fundamentally sound, and that is just enough.

Love,
Megan