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.