Update #14: On to the OC (Orange County)

Dear friends and family,

Wow...it's been awhile. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope you are all doing well!

Well, I had an update written a few days ago when I was sans internet access. My computer decided to restart itself and as a result I lost the update and had not found it within me to try again, but I think it's now or never for this one!

Lots of things have happened since the last update: I finished the long term classes in April and was particularly sad to see my Theology of Karl Barth class end. Shortly after the May term classes began and I ended with Presbyterian Polity on my schedule...not planned, but just fine with me. I enjoyed it quite a bit in fact!

Graduation was right around the corner and since most of my friends were graduating it was a fun and busy time. Just a couple of days after graduation I packed up my room, smushed myself into my car and chased the sun to California. I took a more southern route this year, along I-40 and added about 6 states to my "visited" list. After the 5-day trek home I spent about a week hanging out with my mom and one of my very best friends before heading south. "Where am I now?" you may ask. Well, I am spending my summer working at First Presbyterian church (http://www.fpcsa.org) doing a church field education internship for Princeton and I have already quite fallen in love with the church and the people. They are delightful. The church itself is right downtown and has several downtown ministries and a heart for service, mission, and outreach. I will be doing a little bit of everything, or in the words of the pastor, "Go to everything!" I will be helping to lead in worship, going on youth activities and events, attending all the Bible studies I can, learning how to sew, going on site visits to nonprofits in the area, preaching three times (June 28, July 12, and August 9 if you'd like to come...I'd be more than happy to have a support group there!), and getting involved in every way possible. But I am loving it already (I started on June 7) and will be here until mid-August.

Well, I think that's enough for now, right? I hope you are all well and I would love to hear from all of you (just not all at once, eh?) Just kidding! Prayers for this summer, for making connections, and for things with Rutgers residency requirements to figure themselves out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone! Have a blessed day!

Love,

Megan

Dear Monster

Dear Monster-

Thanks for writing and publishing the article, "Succeeding at Work with Autism." It's great to see someone recognizes the contributions people with autism have to make to the work force. It also serves to help those in management and human resources be more aware, understanding, and accommodating.

However, it would be appreciated if you would use "person first" language when addressing issues related particularly to disability. I understand that the person you interviewed used the term "autistics" but that is a personal decision about what she is comfortable using. In cases where you are talking about the issues related to people with autism, using that phrase rather than "autistics" would be greatly appreciated, as well as more respectful of those who have autism and disabilities in general. Person first language simply encourages us to think of people with disabilities as people first, and to think of their disability as secondary to them as a person.

Sincerely,
Megan Acedo

Article can be found here.

Update #12: Great News! And a few more prayer requests!

Dear friends and family,

This is just a quick note as it is getting late here in the Garden State, but I have some great news to share: I have been "recommended for admission" to the second part of my dual-degree program, the Master of Social Work at Rutgers University!!! I am so excited and just want to say thank you to all of you for your prayers! It is so wonderful to see this coming to fruition after five years of dreaming, planning, and working! I could not be doing it without you, my friends and family, and your support!

There are lots of loose ends to be tied up: figuring out state residency requirements so I can save money on tuition, setting up field ed that will get me dual credit (I've already chosen the place and interviewed), and most importantly, getting "in" via Princeton Seminary's side of the program. Allow me to explain: this program has historically had two or three students each year. This year there were seven! The program, however, is capped at four due to finances that Princeton contributes to Rutgers during your "dual" year. With the current economy I can't imagine Princeton being able to find the extra money, besides it would set a precedent they would need to follow later on. So, Princeton has a screening process to help determine placements for the program; please pray that my persistence and familiarity with the registrar here at Princeton will help and my passion and desire for this program would show. I am not sure yet when this screening process will take place, but should be it the next couple of weeks.

One other thing that I would appreciate prayer on is housing for next year: I entered the apartment lottery and did not get an apartment which is a little problematic because I will be commuting between two schools 35 minutes apart and doing field ed for several hours a week. Due to these time constraints I won't be around campus to use the cafeteria during normal meal hours (which are limited) and so living in the dorms and being on the meal plan will be a large waste of money. I will be speaking with the director of housing in the next few days, so please pray that he would have compassion and will be able to see my financial situation as it is.

Thank you all again for all your support and encouragement! I look forward to hearing from you!

Many, many blessings,

Megan

Update #11: Prayers Appreciated!

Dear friends and family,

Thanks for all hanging in there with me people. I know I get bad at keeping you updated, but I want you to know how much I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. I thought that, today, I would share what's been keeping me from you all for a month now.

After my trip to Dallas at the beginning of February, I made another trip the following weekend back to California, an unexpected and delightful surprise of a trip, for a church synod meeting and a visit home to see my mom. After hauling myself to the train station long before the crack of dawn so I could make it to a 1:00pm meeting in California (sometimes I love traveling west!) and getting done with the meeting I piled myself into the car and made the trek home. A trip down the Blossom Trail (in the Central Valley...if you get a chance this month, go!), a visit with one of my very best friends in the world (practically my sister), and a surprise visit to church later I headed back to San Francisco for my red-eye back to New Jersey. Thankfully after that weekend, the traveling has mostly stopped...until April at least!

More recently, and perhaps more time-consuming, I filled out, wrote, and submitted my application to the second portion of my dual-degree program, the Master of Social Work at Rutgers University. And now I just sit back and wait. Except for a few small snags, all of which could use your prayers in the next couple of weeks: 1) I have to get accepted by Rutgers to do the dual-degree program (hopefully not a problem!), 2) this year there are seven people from Princeton applying to do the dual-degree program, which historically only has 2 or 3 every year, and is actually capped at 4 people due to financial reasons, and 3) in the current economy, I can't imagine that Princeton is going to be able to dig out the necessary funds to expand, though I am praying for that. So, as you can see, prayers would be especially appreciated for this.

We are on "Reading Week" which I am using for some reading, yes, but also for an opportunity to relax a bit. Winter is finally starting to loosen its firm grip around these here parts, and I'm so glad that it's been almost 6 weeks since the groundhog saw his shadow! With the warm weather comes an itching to reorganize and clean...they don't call it spring cleaning for nothing! I hope you are all well, and will write again soon! As always, I love hearing from you and will do my very, very best to respond!

Blessings for a delightful spring,
Megan

Update #10: Nonstop Flight and Theology From 30,000 Feet

Dear Friends,

Well, I’m sitting in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport waiting for my flight back to New Jersey (which has been delayed, of course) and decided now is as good a time as any to say hello and write an update! My first thought was that I ought to share with you how much I love nonstop flights. For those of you who heard of my travel woes in August (I finally got to Louisville, aka my “second home” about 13 hours after I was supposed to) and going home for Christmas (32 hours to get home from Princeton) you’ll understand why I am so happy to be on a nonstop, with baggage in hand. I don’t have to worry about a connection, I don’t have to wait for the excruciatingly slow and unorganized baggage claim in Newark, and I get to eat Swedish meatballs from IKEA and actually send this update that much sooner (a lack of Internet is keeping me from sending it now).

So, I’ll get to the whole grad school thing in a minute but some of you may be wondering why I’m in Dallas and why I’m going to San Francisco next weekend. I have the opportunity to be part of a General Assembly (national level) committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Committee on Representation, since the summer of 2004. We meet 2-3 times a year in various places, although last year we seemed to be permanently stuck in Louisville (see above) and from this I’ve had the chance to visit Atlanta, Louisville, St. Louis, Dallas, Albuquerque, Daytona Beach, FL, and hopefully on the docket for the next couple of meetings are Nashville and Lake Tahoe. Our main goals are advocacy and monitoring as well as training on how to and encouragement for Synod and Presbyteries (the middle governing bodies in the Presbyterian Church) to create and maintain their own Committees on Representation. The four main areas we deal with are 1) racial ethnic diversity, 2) male/female equity, 3) youth and young adult involvement, and 4) inclusion of persons with disabilities and disability awareness. This October I will be in charge of a biennial training event for our Synod committee staff and plans for it have been in the works for a year and a half already! So, this is just one area of my life that I’m getting to share with you all!

Now, back to that whole school thing: classes for the spring semester are in session (we began about a week ago) and my professors are already off to a running start. I have a rather eclectic mix of classes this semester:

· Introduction to Preaching

· The Theology of Karl Barth

· Iconography, Symbolism, and Theology

So far I’m enjoying all of them, although the last one on the list is certainly the must unstructured and unpredictable class I have, and I do like my structure in my classes. It should shape up to be a good semester though and while I’m a little anxious about preaching, I think I will really enjoy it. Also, after writing 4 papers totaling about 61 pages for the fall semester I am oh-so-thankful that I will only have 2 papers this semester.

With Princeton’s new schedule we also had a Jan term (shh, don’t tell anyone I called it that!) that took up three weeks of…well, January. I took one three-credit course in the pastoral care section entitled Ministry with Persons with Disabilities and Their Families. While it was a very, very intense three weeks, it was an incredibly valuable experience, especially for someone who is looking into working with children or adults with developmental disabilities for her vocation.

I know there have been several things I promised I would write about and haven’t gotten to them yet in my updates, but this is getting a bit long, so I think I’ll wrap things up for now. Thanks for reading, and I would love to hear from you. I also want to take just a minute and thank those who lifted up my alma mater, Westmont College, during the Tea Fire in November. Westmont is well on its way to recovering, no doubt in part thanks to your prayers. If you’re interested you can read more about fire recovery and rebuilding efforts here.

May you be blessed this day.

Thanks for reading,

Megan

Alive?

Well, I am still (mostly) alive. Christmas break has come and gone and so has over half of our January term. Things are just flying by...and I am having a hard time keeping up. So, for the time being, this is just to say I'm still mostly alive.

Signing off for now...
Megan

The End of an Era

This particular era I speak of is the fall long-term portion of the semester. It is over. Finished. Kaput. And I am happy.

In one week I wrote 11,722 words totalling approximately 47 pages, equalling three papers. And then I drank a very, very large margarita. During finals week I also sang about 16 hours in three rehearsals and four concerts.

I am now focused on Christmas which is blissfully free of papers. I am ignoring the sociological research methods final looming over me in January. I visited Santa Barbara, saw wonderful people, went caroling, did some Christmas shopping and will now embark on the mad dash for the finish line that is Christmas...luckily this is a different...a good kind of mad dash. And then I will relax.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and prayers for a blessed New Year.
Love,
Megan

An Update to My Update...

Dear family and friends,

It was one week ago this evening that I wrote petitioning for your prayers. Tonight however, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude, peace, and also sadness at the tragedy that has transpired in one of my second homes. One week ago today, my alma mater, Westmont College, sat ablaze on the hill with fire. Tonight it is lit from within by a sense of God's protection, love, and a peace that surpasses all understanding.

First, I want to thank you for your prayers. I personally had one of the longest and hardest sessions of prayer in my life, praying against the fire that buffeted the college on three sides and I am sure I am not the only one. I was already confident that prayer works, but this confirmed it even more. For proof, please see these pictures taken by Brad Elliott at: http://www.westmont.edu/teafire/pictures2.html

Second, the real update on the fire: the Tea Fire was 100% contained on Tuesday but only after burning 1,940 acres, destroying 210 homes, and damaging 9. Westmont itself was hard hit: it lost 9 structures on campus as well as 15 faculty homes in the adjoining neighborhood, Las Barrancas. Four of the structures destroyed (the math building, the physics building, and two Quonset huts used for arts and ceramics) were scheduled for demolition in the next few weeks. The most damage on campus occurred in the dorm I lived in my freshman year, Clark Halls. Two of the 17 small cottage-like buildings were damaged and two were destroyed including Mark "the RD's" house, which was a complete loss. Westmont is now beginning the rebuilding, recovering, and healing process with the support of thousands of alumni across the country and around the globe.

On Wednesday the cause of the Tea Fire was announced, but in a manner that was somewhat damaging to the school. As a result, confirmations were made today that no Westmont students were involved in the start of the Tea Fire but rather another area college. To catch up on more news regarding the circumstances surrounding the blaze, please see http://www.independent.com/. In the midst of a traumatic time, Westmont's officials have acted with incredible integrity and compassion and I am so grateful. In addition, some of our "rival" schools have really been incredibly, particularly Azusa Pacific University who postponed a conference championship men's soccer game that they could have won by Westmont's forfeit in order to give our school an opportunity to play. Read the incredible story here, courtesy of the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke18-2008nov18,0,5737203.column?page=1. Westmont students have also been volunteering to help area families clean, sift through, wash clothes and bedding, and do other practical things.

Westmont's campus is currently closed for an extended Thanksgiving holiday and classes will resume December 1, on which day Westmont will also be holding A Service of Hope and Renewal, which if you are in the Santa Barbara area are all invited to at 10:30am at Westmont. Many faculty and lots of students have lost everything and so if you would like to make a donation or offer help of some kind, please let me know and I will be happy to tell you where and how to do so. If you would like to make a monetary donation directly to Westmont, you can do so here: https://secure.westmont.edu/forms/giving/donation_form/newdonationform.html. Note that it is for wildfire relief in the appropriate area.

Just a quick note on where I am: our long term for the fall semester will be ending very quickly and I have about 55 pages of writing to do before the end of the semester. I will be home in Visalia for Thanksgiving, so I hope to see some of you! Lots of activities and Christmas concerts and parties are on the docket for the next couple of weeks as well. I will be in Santa Barbara over my Christmas break as well for a couple of days, and hope to see more of you then!

I also wrote a (rather long) reflection about the fire for my writing as faith practice class as an assignment and a way to process. I would be willing to share it if you're interested.

Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and thoughts. They are indeed felt.

Blessings,

Megan

Update #9: Please Pray for Westmont and Santa Barbara

A little late, and there will be an update to the update soon, but I figured since no one ever reads this blog anyway it doesn't matter much.
------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dear family and friends,

I know several of you are aware of this already, but I just wanted to ask for fervent prayers as soon as possible. Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA (my alma mater and that of several PTS students) is surrounded by a 1,000+ acre wildfire tonight. It began around 6:00pm Pacific time and has already burned several homes. Westmont's campus has several spot fires on it and the prayer chapel has possibly burned as well as some other buildings.

They are keeping students safe in the gym which is fireproof and lots of Westmont community members are letting students stay in their homes who were already off campus and cannot get back. There are several Princeton students with ties to Westmont (alumni and parents). Please pray. I'm exhausted (I haven't been getting much sleep this week) but I'm too distracted and sad and worried and praying to sleep. I know if I laid down I'd fall asleep, but I'm worried now about Santa Barbara because it seems that the city is in grave danger.

From Westmont:
"Conditions on campus improved to the point where staff were able to get food from the Dining Commons and bring it to the gym, where the
community is sheltered in place.

Conditions in the area may make it possible now to leave the campus for a Red Cross shelter, but that option is still being explored. Firefighters are currently attempting to put out several fires at Clark Hall. Structures lost to or significantly damaged by fire include the Physics Building, the 'old Math" building, Bauder Hall and the Quonset Huts.

Again, we are grateful that no one has been hurt on campus, and everyone is safely in the gymnasium and in good spirits. Thank you for your prayers.

Chris Call,
Vice President for Administration"

The hidden blessing is that several of the buildings that have been destroyed/damaged were already marked for demolition as part of the growth of Westmont's Master Plan. However, very recently, part of one of the dorms has been damaged, parts of it destroyed, as well as the Resident Director's house. They've also lost lots of homes in the Montecito and Santa Barbara community....dozens probably and the fire is completely out of control..a true "wild" fire. Scary. I do know the tree canopy at Westmont is probably pretty bad. This link has pictures...all from Westmont. Better news than any other source in Santa Barbara probably comes from The Independent in case you're interested.

Thanks for your prayers, so so much.
Love,
Megan

A Halloween Haiku

Trick-or-treaters come
Cute costumes and pillow sacks
As fall settles in

I <3 Woot!

WOOT, INC. INTERNAL EMAIL
STAFF EYES ONLY

Attention Woot employees -

We are now entering the final phase of preparations for the Woot-Off planned for midnight tonight. This is when we depart from our usual deal-a-day model and sell one product after another, offering a new deal as soon as the previous one sells out. For some reason, Woot members like Meganace continue to have high expectations for this event. We must make every effort to ensure that they feel disappointed and betrayed.

All workers should be physically and mentally straining to make this Woot-Off a success, like every muscle in a wolf's body strains to capture and devour its prey. We expect total compliance with the following objectives:

• Make sure the stables are thoroughly cleaned and the horses properly groomed and shod. As you know, Commander Rutledge prefers to lead us on horseback during Woot-Offs. Charge!
• Customer Service department: all vacation requests for this week and next are approved. If you have not filed a vacation request, take one anyway.
• The little green pills in the kitchen are there to keep you alert and working. Take as many as you need. Officially, Woot does not believe in the concept of "overdose".
• Take at least one of our servers offline, just for laughs.
• Go to the landfill and dig up some more Sansa media players. If you see any Digipro Graphics Tablets (and you will), grab those, too.
• Place crap bags in company latrines so those orders can be "filled". To this end, the company will provide free lunch today from El Feo, the filthiest burrito joint in Dallas. Do your worst, guys.
• Neutralize all negative thinking among our members. We simply cannot tolerate any more posts like "do not want" or "Woot-Off killer". If electronic means like word filters and IP bans do not work, we must reactivate the rapid-response teams to physically eliminate all threats to our reputation.
• Last time, spot checks revealed that approximately 25% of products shipped are broken, incomplete, or excessively dirty. This is unacceptable. For this Woot-Off, defective shipments must make up at least 40%.
• Remind SmartPost that there's no need to hurry on these orders. Prompt delivery makes our customers spoiled and argumentative. Let them learn humility and gratitude while they wait.

Above all, we must strive to make this Woot-Off even more tedious, disappointing, and lucrative than the last one. The employee who achieves the most toward this end will be rewarded with one brown Zune. Second place: two brown Zunes.

Forward into battle! Remember: to give one's life for Woot is glorious!

Larry Stalin
eCommerce eKommissar
Woot, Inc.

THIS EMAIL WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 90 SECONDS

You Are What You Read

I sat in the terminal in Newark International Airport, waiting for my delayed flight. Just in case there was going to be another delay I had already gotten myself a nice dinner and a glass of wine; I wanted to be prepared. I was feeling rather calm. The delay was giving me an opportunity to get most of my theology reading done before we even boarded the plane. And with the yummy dinner I had enjoyed it didn't seem there was much that could have perturbed me. I was at peace, in the midst of a bustling airport, surrounded by lots of cell-phone talkers, coffee-drinkers, and cuddling couples.

Across from me was a middle-aged woman with anything-but-natural, overprocessed blond hair. She was reading what I would consider a crappy murder/mystery novel. The kind that is not written well and is full of vapidity. There's no real mystery to the murder, the protagonist is a nothing more than an attractive man and the detective might as well be investigating the next fashion trend for all the attention he gives. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh though.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm as much of a fan of fun reading with little substance (beach reading) as the next person. But it isn't my whole life. What made me most sad was not that she was reading this book, but rather the empty look in her eyes when she would rest the book on her lap and look around the terminal and the flat sound of her voice when she answered the phone. I actually felt sorry for her.

I hope she reads more than just that book.

Let Me Count the Ways...

Daniel: "How am I wacky??"
Megan: "Let me count the ways..."

1. He gets overly silly about...well, me.
2. He thinks white white white tennis shoes are OK with very dark wash jeans. (They're not, just in case you were wondering.)
   
3. "Three is the magic number! Ah, ah, ah!"
4. Megan: "One and two and ti and four and..." Daniel: What kind? Early Grey or English Breakfast?"
5. Hungarian food (or really any ethnic food) makes him go crazy with hunger.
6. The Cranberry Festival sparked an intense desire for all things cranberry themed.
7. Being an Eagle Scout is an excuse for anything.
8. His idea of "fun" reading is history stuff.
9. His idea of "fun" in Washington DC is all the historical stuff. (Is anyone else noticing a trend here?)
10. He can magically break IKEA wine glasses.

Trust me, there is more. But I'll stop for now...
I love you, D!

Update #8 from Princeton Theological Seminary: "What a blessing!"

Dear family and friends,

Well, the time has come for a new school year, and with it, some wonderful additions to my update list. Before I get going here, as I've said before please feel free to let me know if you'd no longer like to receive my updates and I'll take you off...no love lost. =)

Now, to go further up and further in: there is too much to talk about already! Let's start with the end of the summer. I finished up at First Pres, Visalia at the end of August only after preaching my very first sermon ever! My text was the wedding at Cana...and amazingly enough I felt like it went very well and received a lot of great feedback. What a blessing! Leaving the kids was very difficult as I had become rather attached to them over the summer. We finished the summer off with a girl's spa night and several great weeks of youth group. Again, what a blessing they are.

Along those lines, as I spent some time reflecting on my time at home I found that while I had been apprehensive about returning to Visalia for the summer, and really had no intentions to do that, God knew what he was doing. It was great to spend some time at home with my mom. It was wonderful to reconnect to First Pres and the families there that I used to know better and to get to know some of the newer families and people in the church. It was indeed another example of God's great faithfulness!

After I finished up my job I loaded up my car, drove to Bakersfield and picked up two of my best friends from college to begin our 3,000-mile cross-country road trip! In just seven short days we arrived in Princeton, but not before seeing a friend of ours from college in Colorado, stopping at a glass marble factory and shop in the middle of Kansas, going up 637 feet in the St. Louis Arch, experiencing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and getting cheesesteaks in Philly! We got my stuff unloaded and prepared for a very busy few days before Jules and Brian left: New York City, Princeton, and church and antiquing!

Now that we're on to present day, school has officially been in session for three weeks! I love my classes this semester, it has been good to reconnect with friends, and enjoy some of my favorite east coast places. And to answer the question I'm sure you're all asking, no, the fall colors are not here...not quite yet.

Well, I believe I'll wrap up for now....this has gone on long enough. I'll write again soon more about my classes and such. I hope you are all well. Please find my address below...I love to get little notes and stuff! ;-)

Many "what a blessing!" moments I wish for you today,
Megan

Update #7: Preaching!

Dear friends and family,

Well, your thoughts and prayers have been felt throughout the summer, and I know this because it has truly been a great one. It has been so nice to be at home, be refreshed by coming back to First Presbyterian for a while, and through it all I've been able to keep quite busy traveling to San Jose, CA (for General Assembly), to Louisville, KY (for a meeting), and to Santa Barbara twice to see some of my very best friends in the world, not to mention one of my favorite places.

Things are beginning to wrap up here at the church, meaning I only have about a week and a half left. Somehow I missed the memo to finish your summer job/field ed on or immediately following the 8th of August. So, I will finish my time here at First Pres. on Aug. 26, but before that time we will have our final youth pool party and I will preach...in "big church," (which is what all the youth have called Sunday morning worship since probably before I started coming here 13 years ago) this Sunday, August 17. I am terrified, and thrilled, and excited and nervous and just about every emotion you can imagine you might feel when asked to speak the word of God to the congregation of your home church. And yet...I am really looking forward to it. I will be preaching on John 2, the wedding at Cana, and will be taking a different approach to it than is usually taken. Because I know many of you cannot be here, I will be sending out a link to the recording online soon after this Sunday and will hopefully have a hard copy of the recording as well.

Anyway, back to the rest of the summer: the youth group has been good, but my hopes for resurrecting the very small junior high group into some large, on fire group has gone mostly unnoticed by the kids. The ones who show up seem to genuinely appreciate me being there, I have developed some good relationships with several of the kids, but instead of continuing to focus only on the one area where I wasn't making any distinguishable progress I decided to widen my focus and spend time investing in our high school girls. We have had coffee-time with Megan, a chance for kids to just come hang out, pool parties, a girls spa night, and just lots of fun; I've taught in youth group twice, and Sunday school several times. But the coolest part has been just getting to know the girls through our Wednesday night small groups and hanging out on Sunday mornings. How rewarding it has been to watch them wrestle and grow and learn. What a cool and utterly humbling experience.

Well, these are the two big things I wanted to write about today: praises for the youth group and how God has been obviously working, and prayer requests for my time preaching this Sunday (9am and 10:30am). Next time I'll talk some about my upcoming transition and the things I'm looking forward to and sad to be leaving behind. Until then, blessings on you for your journey now, and until we meet again...

-Megan

I AM Still Alive

Hey everyone...I suppose I've kinda been MIA for a few weeks. It seems like crunch-time of monumental proportions here...summer is beginning to come to a close and between finishing my online statistics course, trying to connect with kids, spending time with my mom, and preaching in church on August 17 (you should come!) there just isn't enough time for everything. Besides I also want to finish revamping my blog, plan a cross-country road trip with two of my best friends, lay out my new room at school, go through my stuff at home, and see lots of people. So, with all this to do, blogging has fallen by the wayside. I apologize. I do hope you can forgive me.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, things don't just stand still so I can get more done. So I'm going to go to our junior high/high school girls spa night and sleepover! Yay for pampering with all-natural facial masks, junk food, and movies. =)

Blog Redux

Well, I have decided it is time for a little makeover. And as much as I would like to go get one myself, this is actually for my blog. So, if you all will be a little patient with me over the next few days, we should be up and running in just a while. Thanks!




This mess is a place! ~Author Unknown

A Ministry of Presence

Youth ministry is a funny thing. Kids get attached so quickly and easily. They show affection at the drop of a hat (or after only knowing you for a few days...or hours). And believe me, I am not complaining. There is little in life that's just as purely good as a big hug, or a junior high student saying, "Get in the pool with me!" and tugging on your arm, or a high school girl giving an example about how her dad loves her mom by making her coffee in the morning. But in some ways this quickness to get attached worries me...not for their sake, but for mine. I hope and pray to be a good example and to be someone safe for them to talk to. I work towards showing the love of God, at being transparent, at being humble and doing the right thing. I want them to know both the adoption of God and the love of Christ on the cross. Sometimes I get worried I'm not doing them justice, that it's not enough and when they realize this, they might feel betrayed by their attachment. And then...I remember that God's grace is sufficient.

I am praying right now that God's grace will always be sufficient, that God's grace will outshine my desire to be "the-best-youth-intern-ever!" and my own selfish desire to be liked, that God's grace will put those wishes in their place. After all, youth ministry, especially with a very small junior high group, is all about a ministry of presence...a ministry of just showing up and hanging out and being a vessel for God to dwell within. That's all I am...a tool, a beautiful tool of God's.

Gems from General Assembly

Well, I'm back. I'm alive...I survived, mostly. My stomach was not entirely intact the evening of my return, but that is a story for another time. I'm here today just to share some sparkling little gems of real beauty from General Assembly (please do note the sarcasm):

• "I don't know if they got talked to by our conservative 'friends' or are just stupid."
• "The one-third of the denomination that's just stonewalling on ordination issues should just go start their own denomination."
• "The unity of the church is more important than the righteousness of following Christ."

There are times when I really wonder, and hope, and pray, and fear for us all...

"Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8

General Assembly is Like...

Hello from San Jose, CA! I'm spending the week at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s biennial General Assembly and I've been thinking for a couple of days now of the best analogy for it. Many of you who know much about church in general is that the degrees of separation between churchfolk has got to be less than 10. I am convinced, however, that in the PC(U.S.A.) it's more like...two.

Along those lines, I've decided the most appropriate analogy for G.A. is a family reunion. This idea first came to me when I began running into friends, colleagues, and people I admire in the denomination that I haven't seen in a long while, most since the last assembly I attended in 2004. Yet the idea became even more clear when I ran into others, people with whom I have had, shall we say, "words," people with whom I do not see eye-to-eye with regards to diversity issues, theology, or any of the other multitude of issues that seem to divide us.

See, at your family reunion there are the long-lost cousins, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews. You hear about their achievements, their triumphs and losses through the grapevine. But when you finally see them, you celebrate in person, you hug and show your excitement to reconnect despite the distance and the time. But, at your family reunion, there is also the person with whom you disagree on nearly every issue and who takes the time to make that known. You avoid them when possible or appropriate, but at family reunions there is little room or time for that. Family reunions are where all our guts and passion and mistakes and love get strewn out across the table and we are called to defend them, sometimes vehemently and sometimes meekly. Family reunions are where fights happen, destructive, divisive fights. But, and this is so important to remember, family reunions are where healing can begin. They are where love can conquer when we take time to listen. See the word in there that's key: "reunion"?

Signing off for the night with a heart broken for the Church,

Megan