Moving and Slowing Down

We're back in PA, and honestly I'm glad to be back. It's really starting to feel like the summer is almost over, and I've never been as ready for it to be over as I am this year. I'm so ready to get into the groove of the year and see where it takes us.

I've been thinking a lot recently about the upcoming year, particularly about freshman outreach. One of the good things about going to NYU and doing ministry with Peter and Co. was that I really got a good vision of what reaching out to students looks like. Back in the day, we'd spend days on campus speaking to hundreds of students about their spiritual interests, and we'd always see God work in humongous ways. Of course, seeing that work has led Laura and I to want to duplicate that at Boston University.

But in so many ways it feels like the deck it stacked against us. Not only do we not get a full week before classes start to do outreach (freshmen don't come until the Friday or Saturday before classes start), but WE (both staff and students) can't move in until then as well. And while I'd love to hit campus and talk to as many students as possible, I'm just INTENSELY feeling the need to settle down into our apartment and unpack. It seems so trivial, especially writing it out like this, but it's so true right now. And so now we're left in the position of trying to balance our sanity with reaching out to students.

I think we're erring on the side of sanity right now. I think it's wise for Laura and I to be in position to be effective in reaching out to students. If we're frazzled and discombobulated we're not going to be effective at all, so if anything that would be a lose-lose. But there's still that small, condemning voice inside of me, telling me that we're not doing enough, not working hard enough, being selfish and lazy. And though I know deep down that that's not true, it still lingers.

Sometimes I just wish God would be direct and tell us exactly what to do. It would make things a little easier sometimes.

On an completely unrelated note, I'm really looking forward to TV. Particularly The Office, but I'm also really intrigued by Kath and Kim. The previews they've been showing during the Olympics look pretty funny. I still laugh out loud every time they show the Applebee's argument commercial.

Grad School

So I just started the application process for grad school and immediately got a little overwhelmed. There were questions asking about my research and clinical experience, which I don't really have, so I'm hoping that won't present too much of a problem. Anyways, it's definitely reminded me that ultimately I'm only going to get into grad school if God wants me there. I think I've gotten so excited about the possibility of going back to school that I've subconsciously forgotten that that's the case. So in some ways I guess I'm grateful for the reality check, but it definitely increases the nerves a little bit.

Laura and I head back to Bethlehem tomorrow, and then on to Boston a week after that! I'm so beyond ready to unpack and buy furniture and be in one place for more than two weeks.

First real post here

Well... I'm actually in a blogging mood right now, so here goes.

So I've been thinking a lot about my (our) future over the past few weeks. I guess it's because I've been asked a lot what's going to happen after our next year of EDGE is over. At first I was hesitant to talk about it, but the more I've thought and prayed about it, the more I'm pretty sure that I want to go back to school next year. Working with The Navigators at BU has really demonstrated to me that I enjoy counseling, so I've been looking into Psych grad school programs, particularly doctoral programs. I haven't really talked to older, wiser people about this, though, so I think the testing point of this grand plan for my life is going to happen on Monday, when I talk to both my former counselor and the Chens about it. I'm praying that God will speak me through these people, but secretly I'm hoping that they will confirm these feelings I'm having. I would love to go back to school and get actual, practical training in counseling. The thought of three to five more years of school is a little bit worrisome (particularly financially) but if my wiser, older friends think it might be a good move for me I'll definitely feel more confident about moving forward.

Speaking of moving forward, I'm SO READY to get back to Boston. I'm ready to have a place that's ours, where we don't have to worry about running into someone in the kitchen, where we can just let our hair down and be ourselves. Laura and I knew this summer was going to be tough, but it was a lot less tough than we thought it would be up to this point. But now it's hit us hard, and we are emotionally exhausted. And I know it's going to get even harder once we get to Boston. The first few weeks of college ministry are SO exhausting, and I really would love to get some time to recuperate at some point over the next few weeks. We'll see what happens.

We're at 68%. Pray that we'll hit at least 75% before August 27.

New blog

So Xaris bailed Xanga, so I'm jumping ship as well. Not like I update all that often anyways, but I want to have a Blogspot as well. So if I ever get around to blogging regularly again, this is where it will happen.

Random thought, though. I LOVE Google. Xaris just introduced us to Google reader, and I'm hooked. I think I'll have a much easier time keeping up with people's blogs now.

Let's see if I get back into the groove of this.