I graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2004, so it has been over 5 years since I've been a part of any kind of formal education. When I graduated, I always said that I was tired of school and would never go back to grad school. This conviction of mine was confirmed when I was working in software development and saw my co-workers wearing themselves out trying to get their Masters degrees at night while they were working full time. That is all going to change this fall, however, because I am going back to school!
I found out last week that I got accepted (which really isn't a big deal - it isn't competitive) to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. I will be starting to take classes this fall on my way to getting a Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies. It should take me about 3 1/2 years to complete, if I can stick to the pace of taking two classes per semester and some in the summer/winter terms. The program is designed for people, like me, who are working full-time. I will travel down to Charlotte (about a 3 hour drive from Blacksburg) a couple of weekends each month for class and do a lot of work here at home. It is going to be a busy semester for me as I continue to work full-time at BCM but learn to balance my time with this new pursuit.
Going to seminary has been something I've often thought of over the past couple of years. I have done a good amount of reading and studying about the Bible and the Christian worldview, and have at times wished I had a good education to enable me to do this better. This has especially been true this past year as I've tried to help students better understand God's teaching while not having a great foundation to understand it myself. I look forward to what I will learn and how it will change the ways I think about and study God, and how it will enable me to be a more effective minister to college students.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Summer Update
It's hard to believe, but summer is almost officially over here in Blacksburg. In about a week and a half, students will start moving back into campus, and classes start two weeks from today! We've had an adventurous past month, so here's a recap of what April and I have been up to.
In late July, we spent a week on the beach in Ocracoke, NC, which is a small island at the southern end of the Outer Banks. The only down point of the week were the killer mosquitoes around the cabin we stayed in - besides that, it was a super relaxing and recharging week. We spent most of our days sitting on the beach reading and playing in the waves with Mabel. After having seen the newest Harry Potter movie, I was excited to go back and re-read some of the books. I got through 5 of the 7 books (I skipped #2 and #5 because I didn't have them) in the period of about 2 weeks, with the bulk of that reading done on the beach.
When we got back, our BCM staff took a trip down to Natural Tunnel State Park where one of our students (Patrick Trail) is working as a summer park ranger. We played in the sweet swimming pool (including a nice water slide) that they have there, and then got a personal tour of the park by Ranger Trail. It was a beautiful place, and a great time of bonding with staff and students.
The final trip of the summer was back to Cincinnati this past weekend to visit my family. We got to have an extended family dinner, enjoy walking and exercising the two dogs, go to church together (my parents church, Crossroads, is a great place), and eat at our two favorite places: Skyline and Chipotle. On Saturday, my dad and I headed down to Georgetown, KY, to go to a scrimmage game at the Bengals' Training Camp. My good friend and ex-roommate Jim Clifford lives in that area, so we got to meet up with him and had a blast watching football even though we were sweating in the hot sun. April and my mom had a good all-girl shopping trip while we were down there. All in all, it was a great weekend!
Now that we're back, the rush to get ready for school has begun. We are preparing some of our early Bible study and worship service material, planning for our outreach to new freshmen and helping them move into the dorms, and taking the last breath of lazy summer air before it gets crazy around here. I'm excited for the craziness though, which is a good thing!
In late July, we spent a week on the beach in Ocracoke, NC, which is a small island at the southern end of the Outer Banks. The only down point of the week were the killer mosquitoes around the cabin we stayed in - besides that, it was a super relaxing and recharging week. We spent most of our days sitting on the beach reading and playing in the waves with Mabel. After having seen the newest Harry Potter movie, I was excited to go back and re-read some of the books. I got through 5 of the 7 books (I skipped #2 and #5 because I didn't have them) in the period of about 2 weeks, with the bulk of that reading done on the beach.
When we got back, our BCM staff took a trip down to Natural Tunnel State Park where one of our students (Patrick Trail) is working as a summer park ranger. We played in the sweet swimming pool (including a nice water slide) that they have there, and then got a personal tour of the park by Ranger Trail. It was a beautiful place, and a great time of bonding with staff and students.
The final trip of the summer was back to Cincinnati this past weekend to visit my family. We got to have an extended family dinner, enjoy walking and exercising the two dogs, go to church together (my parents church, Crossroads, is a great place), and eat at our two favorite places: Skyline and Chipotle. On Saturday, my dad and I headed down to Georgetown, KY, to go to a scrimmage game at the Bengals' Training Camp. My good friend and ex-roommate Jim Clifford lives in that area, so we got to meet up with him and had a blast watching football even though we were sweating in the hot sun. April and my mom had a good all-girl shopping trip while we were down there. All in all, it was a great weekend!
Now that we're back, the rush to get ready for school has begun. We are preparing some of our early Bible study and worship service material, planning for our outreach to new freshmen and helping them move into the dorms, and taking the last breath of lazy summer air before it gets crazy around here. I'm excited for the craziness though, which is a good thing!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Late Night at the Movies
Tuesday night, April and I went to the midnight showing of the newly released Harry Potter movie with some BCM friends. This is the second Harry Potter movie in a row that we've gone to the midnight release for now - last time we went with friends in Philadelphia. We have read all of the Harry Potter books and enjoy the story. I haven't liked or disliked any of the movies in the series more than the others because, to me, they are neat ways to see the stories I know from the books told on film. I appreciate the movies because they allow me to be drawn into the world of wizards on a new level. For those of you who still don't buy into the Harry Potter craze, I would recommend giving the books a try - I would be surprised if you don't enjoy them enough to keep reading.
Even when I was younger, and even more so now, I have had a hard time staying awake when watching movies late at night. I never enjoyed watching movies at night with friends because I would just sit there and focus on staying awake because it embarrasses me to fall asleep. This is even true when I'm in a theater; I always tell people that my best achievement in this area was sleeping through most of the movie Gladiator in the theater. I'd say that I did well this time - there were a few moments where I was struggling to keep my eyes open and nodding off a little bit, but I know I didn't miss any significant portion of the movie.
Even when I was younger, and even more so now, I have had a hard time staying awake when watching movies late at night. I never enjoyed watching movies at night with friends because I would just sit there and focus on staying awake because it embarrasses me to fall asleep. This is even true when I'm in a theater; I always tell people that my best achievement in this area was sleeping through most of the movie Gladiator in the theater. I'd say that I did well this time - there were a few moments where I was struggling to keep my eyes open and nodding off a little bit, but I know I didn't miss any significant portion of the movie.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Random Ramblings on a Monday
It was quite the busy weekend here in Blacksburg. We hosted the annual Alumni Work Weekend at BCM and got a whole lot of stuff done. It was great to be reunited with old friends and see lots of things that have been on the "to-fix" list here at BCM actually get fixed. Last night Nic & I walked down to the Drillfield since it was such a nice cool night. It was awesome to be on campus, listening to the sounds of kids playing games and enjoying the sweet smell of summer. It reminded me of just how beautiful this place is that we call home!
This morning I went for a run at 7:30 am. If you know me this is a huge step for me, as I normally am not even up until at least 8 am. It surprisingly was a lot of fun and I was in an extra chipper mood for some reason. I said "Good Morning" to every person I passed on the trail and honestly when I think about it now I was probably a bit too loud and chipper as I greeted those fair citizens of Blacksburg, since I had my Ipod cranked up!
The Friends General Conference is going on all week here in Blacksburg and someone told us that tonight Shane Claiborne, author of The Irrestible Revolution, is speaking at their main session so of course we're going to go check it out. I'm really looking forward to hearing him speak. I just finished his book about a month ago and he certainly made me look at some things from a different perspective. Hopefully I'll give you an update on that tomorrow!
This morning I went for a run at 7:30 am. If you know me this is a huge step for me, as I normally am not even up until at least 8 am. It surprisingly was a lot of fun and I was in an extra chipper mood for some reason. I said "Good Morning" to every person I passed on the trail and honestly when I think about it now I was probably a bit too loud and chipper as I greeted those fair citizens of Blacksburg, since I had my Ipod cranked up!
The Friends General Conference is going on all week here in Blacksburg and someone told us that tonight Shane Claiborne, author of The Irrestible Revolution, is speaking at their main session so of course we're going to go check it out. I'm really looking forward to hearing him speak. I just finished his book about a month ago and he certainly made me look at some things from a different perspective. Hopefully I'll give you an update on that tomorrow!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What a Week
We had a blast hanging out at camp and on our adventures surrounding our week there. Being in the camp atmosphere again was a little weird for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. April and I were a little overwhelmed due to the fact that everybody else on staff knew what they were doing besides us. This was especially difficult for April since she had never experienced a week working at Centrifuge and didn't really know what was expected of her.
One crazy part of the week was the weather in Jackson - we had tornado warnings and crazy downpours the first couple of days, and then overwhelming heat the rest of the week. It was enough to throw everything into a state of semi-chaos and to force us to be the voices of reason to many upset students and youth ministers. The rest of the camp staff there was battling a virus that was taking them down one by one. It was a good week for us to be there as we were able to help fill in some gaps left by those in their sick beds.
As always, the best part of the experience was the chance to minister to the students we encountered. April and I both had good Bible study groups and had the opportunity to see students take steps in their journey of faith. It took me a while to get used to being around high school students instead of the college students I'm used to, but I really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing what God was doing in their lives.
We had a great end to the week as well. We stopped in Nashville for a night on the way back and stayed with our friends Andy and Kristy Reuter. It just so happened that one of our favorite bands, Over the Rhine, was playing in Nashville that night. My brother Randy and his girlfriend Sam joined us for the concert, and my parents drove down from Cincinnati to join us as well. Although April and I were struggling to stay awake at points, it was great to get to hang out with friends and family that we love.
Team Armada
Team Explosion
One crazy part of the week was the weather in Jackson - we had tornado warnings and crazy downpours the first couple of days, and then overwhelming heat the rest of the week. It was enough to throw everything into a state of semi-chaos and to force us to be the voices of reason to many upset students and youth ministers. The rest of the camp staff there was battling a virus that was taking them down one by one. It was a good week for us to be there as we were able to help fill in some gaps left by those in their sick beds.
As always, the best part of the experience was the chance to minister to the students we encountered. April and I both had good Bible study groups and had the opportunity to see students take steps in their journey of faith. It took me a while to get used to being around high school students instead of the college students I'm used to, but I really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing what God was doing in their lives.
We had a great end to the week as well. We stopped in Nashville for a night on the way back and stayed with our friends Andy and Kristy Reuter. It just so happened that one of our favorite bands, Over the Rhine, was playing in Nashville that night. My brother Randy and his girlfriend Sam joined us for the concert, and my parents drove down from Cincinnati to join us as well. Although April and I were struggling to stay awake at points, it was great to get to hang out with friends and family that we love.
Team Armada
Team Explosion
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Going to Camp
As I write, we are finishing up our packing and loading up the car to head to Tennessee for a week. The main reason is that April and I are working a week of Centrifuge camp at Union University in Jackson, TN. However, we're going to make a short vacation out of it by taking our time getting out there and staying an extra day to see friends and family in Nashville. I worked two summers of Centrifuge camp after my junior and senior years of college. It is a summer camp for high school students that church youth groups attend. The week is filled with Bible study, outdoor recreation, sports, games, activities, evening worship, and all kinds of other fun things. There are Fuge locations all over the country (mostly in the Southeast), but the last summer I worked was at Union.
I have all kinds of great memories from my summers working at camp: fun adventures with friends, things God taught me about leadership, meeting cool high school students, and doing crazy things. I'm excited to go back to that environment, but I know it's going to be different. For one thing, I'm 5 years older. Also, we're just coming in to help out for a week instead of getting the whole summer experience and really being a part of the staff team, which was one of the best parts. One thing that will be better is the chance to go on this adventure with April and to experience all of it with her.
April has finished packing, so it's time to hit the road - it is going to be a good week!
I have all kinds of great memories from my summers working at camp: fun adventures with friends, things God taught me about leadership, meeting cool high school students, and doing crazy things. I'm excited to go back to that environment, but I know it's going to be different. For one thing, I'm 5 years older. Also, we're just coming in to help out for a week instead of getting the whole summer experience and really being a part of the staff team, which was one of the best parts. One thing that will be better is the chance to go on this adventure with April and to experience all of it with her.
April has finished packing, so it's time to hit the road - it is going to be a good week!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Zumba and other noteworthy news
One of my hopes for the summer had been to blog everyday (rotating between Nic & myself). Unfortunately that goal has already been trampled upon (as you can see I haven't posted since 5/28..oops). Anyways one of the reasons I decided to try this little experiment was b/c I've discovered I actually kind of enjoy writing. I would never have admitted this to you three years ago (when I was whining about writing a research paper) but it turns out it's kind of fun. I'm reminded of what my piano teacher used to say at our weekly lessons when I was younger "Practice makes perfect" and although I would often cringe when I heard those words I'm realizing it makes sense. Hence why I need to blog more to improve my writing skills!
In other news I went to a Zumba exercise class last night here in Blacksburg. SO MUCH FUN! The class is an hour long but certainly doesn't feel that way at all. You also don't realize that you're "working out" because you're just having fun dancing the time away! I realize that I'm still pretty much a clumsy white girl when it comes to dancing but last night I like to think I was dancing so well that I could've been a competitor on any of those reality dance shows. So You Think You Can Dance bring it on because here I come! Ok maybe not but a girl can dream right?
In other news I went to a Zumba exercise class last night here in Blacksburg. SO MUCH FUN! The class is an hour long but certainly doesn't feel that way at all. You also don't realize that you're "working out" because you're just having fun dancing the time away! I realize that I'm still pretty much a clumsy white girl when it comes to dancing but last night I like to think I was dancing so well that I could've been a competitor on any of those reality dance shows. So You Think You Can Dance bring it on because here I come! Ok maybe not but a girl can dream right?
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