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1/ I’m a Lost, Arrested Development, The Office, and Will & Grace junkie. But other than these shows, I never watch tv.

2/ I can play: guitar, piano, bass, trumpet, baritone, french horn, trombone, saxaphone, clarinet, ukulele, and kazoo. I like to pretend that I can play: violin, cello, and harmonica.

3/ I was born (sorta) and raised in Pittsburgh, PA.

4/ I absolutely love to cook. Especially if I get to cook for lots of people! (Sunday-buffalo chicken dip-hoorah!..haha)

5/ I listen to music almost nonstop throughout the day. I really cannot make it through a day without listening to Coldplay or Lifehouse.

6/ I love quotes. My favorites are, “The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.” James Trunslow Adams and “To love is to be vulnerable.” C.S. Lewis

7/ I have ALWAYS wanted to ride in a hot air balloon for as long as I can remember. I still haven’t had the chance to do so.

8/ This is way harder than I thought!

9/ I did my undergrad at Messiah College in Grantham, PA and my degree is in Christian ministries with a concentration in global missions.

10/ When I was a kid, until about the end of high school, I used to have wicked crazy dreams and would wake up disoriented and think I was in that dream. So one year at camp I dreamt the bunk bed was falling on me and I woke up, sat up straight, and knocked my head on the wooden ladder.

11/ I only like balogna if it is in the shape of a duck.

12/ I have the very best friend in the whole entire world who loves me no matter what! And for that I am grateful. I don’t know what I’d do without her!

13/ I think kids are hysterical. I particularly enjoy the company of a rambunctious 2-6 year old. But beware, I tend to teach them bad things. Well, bad things or lots of Beatles songs Or bad things AND lots of Beatles songs. I think every 4 year old should know that the Beatles are the greatest rock band and be able to sing the chorus of some of their most famous songs. I’m just sayin’.

14/ I love to laugh really hard and I love to make other people laugh really hard. And by hard I mean, crying and having trouble breathing. What a joy!

15/ I’ve traveled outside of the country only twice; once to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and once to Baoding/Beijing, China. I am hankering to travel alot more after I’m done with school.

16/ Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually know anything about anything. 98.5% of the time I google it. In fact, I say, “I’ll just google it,” probably at least 10 times a day.

17/ I have a small collection of wooden statues from various places – Haiti, Mexico, Hawaii, Ecuador, Iceland. It keeps growing and I love it! So next time you are out of the country, hook me up!

18/ I’m deathly afraid of snakes. I will either (a) pass out or (b) run away screaming at the top of my lungs. I haaaaaate them!

19/ See #10. I had one as a kid where I dreamt there was a large gray snake wrapped around a tree in my yard and the people at the church were trying to figure out what to do with it. I still think about that alot and it still makes me shudder (see #18).

20/ I love all my fellow Mars-Hillians. They are an amazing bunch of people and we all have a ton of fun together!

21/ I miss my cat who is at home….she thinks she is a puppy and follows me around everywhere. And she sleeps next to my head every night.

22/ I’ve been in 26 states. Someday, hopefully make it to all of them.

23/ I won a real live bunny at school when I was in 2nd grade. I named it Fufu. No comments! haha

24/ I am actually rather introverted. I like being around people, but I also need alone time to wind down at night.

25/ I want to live, breathe, work, play, eat, love, sing, all in the name of Christ.

Unfortunately this semester I’m probably going to have to employ this phrase more often than not. I’ve got a full load, and a more academically challenging semester. I’m ready, but it’s going to be tough! Here I go…

My reading for the semester:

Shakespeare // Sonnet 75

I need You the way living things need food or the grass needs rain, and to attain the peace that only You can give me, I fight with myself the way a miser struggles with his wealth. One moment he enjoys his wealth proudly, and the next he’s worried that someone from these thieving times will steal his treasure. One moment I think it’s best to be alone with You, but then I think it would be better if the rest of the world could see my pleasure. At times I feel over-satisfied from looking at You excessively, but a little later I’m starving to get a look at You. I can’t experience or pursue any enjoyment except what You can give me or I can take from You. That’s why I suffer and feel hungry day after day, because I either get too much of You or none at all.

BTI 502 Reading Practices: Engaging the Biblical Text (2 credits)

BTI 504 New Testament Genre (3 credits)

CSL 517 Marriage & Family (2 credits)

CSL 552 Practicum I Part II (1 credit)

SFD 526 Celtic Spirituality (1 credit)

TCE 502 Mission in a Global Context (2 credits)

I have one more class/credit than I did last semester. Yes, that means MORE reading and MORE papers. Hoorah…. But I think it is manageable. I think my favorites are going to be the two Bible courses.

[Above picture: One of my first attempts at watercolor and ink]

To see last year’s post, visit this link.

I have been really slack these last couple of months with this blog. The end of the semester was just so busy, I got side tracked. And then of course, have had little motivation to write much more on here. But at any rate, I shall reopen the blog posting this year with a series of lists. Because, well, I love lists of all sorts. Top 10 are the best. Anywho, here they be:

Best Memories of ’08 ::

* Working at two mighty fine churches: Homestead Park UMC (worship leader) and Bridgeville First UMC (secretary)

* Spending two weeks in Baoding and Beijing, China.

* Greeting a third little Rager baby into the world, Mason Chase!

* Road trip across the country with my dad en route to Seattle for graduate school.

* One semester down, done well, well done, 8 more to go!

* Turning 24 years old.

* Getting to know my best friend in the whole world!

* Becoming addicted to Arrested Development.

* Overusing phrases like, “Hey hermano!”, “Because…I know that!”, and “I like you! Very nice!”

Things I’d like to do in ’09 ::

* Ride in a hot air balloon (this is still at the top of my list, but I have yet to complete it….)

* Lose some weight……..or to be specific, a lot of weight.

* Get back into the habit of journaling

* Travel to . . . anywhere.

* Get some more good grades and enjoy some more MHGS classes.

* Figure out watercolor painting and paint some cool things.

* Find a cheaper addiction to replace coffee.

* Read some books that are not school related.

* Get a new camera and take some amazing pictures.

* Begin figuring out what the heck I’m going to do with the rest of my life.

* Actually write on this blog more than once every 2 months.

Best albums of ’08 ::

* Tyler Burkham – Darling, Maybe Someday

* Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in the Grain

* Coldplay – Prospekt’s March

* The New Frontiers – Mending

* Kyle Andrews – Real Blasty

So here is a mini update, for those of you who sporadically visit this little site whose only hits are from people searching for Leona Lewis or Jon Foreman album covers.

At any rate, I just, literally 5 minutes ago, finished my final paper for the semester. In the last week I have written (1) 10 page research paper on NT Wright & the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1) too-many-paged journal entry on theology, (1) 4 page paper on my personal hermeneutic, and (1) 7 page paper on interpersonal foundations. I have to polish the last two papers before I turn them in, but for the most part I am DONE writing for the semester! Hoorah!!

One final feat for the semester: study for a final that is on EVERYTHING. All books, notes, and lectures for the class. Easy, right? Probably not. But manageable. Here I go!!!!!!!!!!!

1 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it-she’d know everything!-she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”-saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.

9 God called to the Man: “Where are you?”

10 He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”

———————————-

What I love most about this passage is the pursuit of Adam & Eve by God. God says, “Where are you?” Does God know at this point what has happened? Certainly. But, God’s first words here are not ones of punishment, shame, or otherwise. He simply asks, “Where are you?” We have been lost and God pursues us so that we might be found again. Yes, there are consequences. But it seems as though the ultimate concern is for reconciliation; for a return to the image in which we have been created.

My time at Mars Hill has been a time of discovery. It has not been discovery in the sense of coming upon something new or unknown. Rather, it has been a time of becoming more conscious of things I already knew, but perhaps could not recognize clearly or formulate properly. This has been my experience in preparing for this paper.

As I went through my prayer time, I found it considerably easier to focus my time and attention on the sinful and depraved parts of my soul than to pinpoint that which is beautiful and glorious within me. I am finding that there is a vast disconnect between how I see myself and how others experience me.

I believe God has given me the ability to listen well and extend grace to people in all walks of life. It is a desire of mine to consistently meet people where they are, to love and accept them no matter their circumstances. I have a genuine interest in people’s lives, and I hope that is apparent as I engage them in meaningful ways.

This desire to be loving and accepting is so indelibly written in my heart, I think, because I yearn for these things for myself. My constant pursuit of love and acceptance, in some respects, has become my greatest downfall. It has generated within me a tremendous amount of insecurity in intimate relationships. The ways in which I am able to give grace are greatly limited by how hard it is for me to receive grace.

As I determine the ways in which these aspects of my soul affect my ministry, I am drawn back to the word “vulnerability.” If I cannot hold the tension of security and vulnerability in relationship, how can I expect others to do the same for me?

I really don’t think that self-professed Christians (Republican, Democrat, or otherwise) who slander presidential candidates with categories and labels such as “fraud” or “terrorist” or “warmonger” or whatever other entirely flippant appellation they want to give voice to are being very helpful to the world seeing the church as anything but divisive and abrasive.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe there are very serious short-comings on BOTH sides of this ballot. But we need to remember these are people, children of God regardless of their stance on abortion or war or whatever else. They are still people deserving respect. Have we entirely lost our capacities for mercy and grace?

It’s easy for us to see them as monsters or terrorists or frauds or liberals or fundamentalists when we don’t have to meet them face-to-face and look into their eyes and see that they are no more or less human than ourselves. We’re all capable of the same evils. Let’s remember:

Mt 7:1-5 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from the other person’s eye.

In the end, it’s God’s prerogative to condemn the guilty, not ours.

Personally, I am still experiencing a bit of the tension of feeling called to be here doing what I’m doing while at the same time have lots of moments of not wanting to be here at all. There are days that I practically skip down to that place because I love it so much. Then there are days where I literally have to drag myself there, knowing I’ll have to talk about how I feel or what’s going on in my heart, and just NOT wanting to do that.

I guess I don’t have much of a point in writing this. Just had some things on my mind. I have a stack of articles sitting in front of me that I have to read this weekend. I think, “Can I do it?” and always the answer in my head, “Probably not.” But am I learning alot along the way about God and others and myself and the world? Certainly. So is it worth it? Absolutely.

2. Parachute Band – Come to the River from the Technicolor album

3. Mates of State – The Re-arranger from the Re-Arrange Us album

4. Hillsong – Desert Song from the This is Our God album

5. Ray LaMontagne – You are the Best Thing from the Gossip in the Grain album

6. Tyler Burkum – Blue as the Sky from the Darling, Maybe Someday album

7. Seth Walker – Picture in a Frame (Tom Waits cover) from the Self-Titled album

8. Christopher Williams – When It Falls Apart from the Sweet Redemption album

9. Jon McLaughlin – We All Need Saving from the OK Now album

10. Matthew Mayfield – Element from The Fire EP

11. Jill Phillips – The Door from the Nobody’s Got It All Together album

12. Josh Garrels – Rabbit & the Bear from the Jacaranda album

13. The National – Apartment Story from the Boxer album

14. Bebo Norman – The Only Hope from the Self-Titled album

15. Laura Story – Might to Save from the Great God Who Saves album

contemplation: how do i communicate the gospel to a dead man that i only know through a book (for school, don’t ask)

film: The Visitor. Very good. Probes American immigration policy.

shame-inducing guilty pleasure: facebook. =[

color: blue & green

wish: that my friend was here, that i could get my paper done, that i didn’t have to make myself dinner

song: “desert song” by hillsong written by brooke fraser

book: not reading anything for pleasure, but enjoyed The Earth is Enough and looking forward to starting the Shack

triumph: less anxiety less withdrawing

celebrity crush: joaquin phoenix

indulgence: coffee (thanks julie)

story: i was recently in kalispell, montana … glacier national park … and a russian woman made me a hotdog and a very tasty mocha. spasiba.

surprise: my bff is on facebook now!

field trip: um. tomorrow. to the grocery store. i know, lame.

feeling: like i could go to bed and not write anymore tonight.

In my defense, I have been quite busy.

At any rate, things are going well in the Emerald City. I’ve been busy with class, reading, writing papers, and becoming a coffee addict. I turned in my first paper the other day. I was very happy with it, and am kind of excited to see what remarks I get back. Of course I am trying not to get my hopes up too much. It’s the first paper, and even if I think it is good, it might actually suck. =] So I’ll wait and see what happens.

This school stirs up all kinds of things in my soul. I love that and hate it at the same time. I told a friend the other day, I feel more inspired here than I ever have been in my life and I also feel more frightened here than I ever have been in my life. It’s an interesting tension. We are being challenged to live our lives in ways that are wildly hopeful. But that requires our whole selves, and that is difficult and daunting.

I’ve been wanting to get out and take some pictures to post. I just haven’t had a chance. And it has been raining alot, of course. But this week looks as though it will be nice, and I should have some time. I’ll try and get some stuff posted.

In the meantime, here’s a list for your viewing pleasure.

Things I love about grad school in Seattle:

5. Walking through the marketplace downtown to get to school.
4. Listening to people say “fer sure” like 1000 times a day, especially when talking about Jesus.
3. Coming up with different Buber slogans that would make great tshirts to sell at the school.
2. Drinking some sort of coffee product multiple times a day.
1. Being constantly challenged and inspired.

Found a musician I really like alot this week. His name is Josh Garrels. Just bought two of his albums, Jacaranda and Over Oceans. He has great lyrics, which you can read on his blog here.  He has a great voice, does some neat stuff on the guitar, and has awesome instrumentation.  It’s unique and refreshing!

Check him out:

http://www.joshgarrels.com

http://www.myspace.com/joshgarrels

Ok, I’ve been tagged by Kendy.

7 random/weird facts about me:

//7. I HATE cake. I’m talking HATE it. It makes me want to yak. Not sure why. I like muffins, which are kind of similar to cake. But I just can’t eat cake. I know, weird.

//6. I’ve been out of the country twice – once to Port-au-Prince, Haiti when I was 16 and once to Beijing/Baoding, China this past May. I’ve always had a little bit of wanderlust, but it only increases with each passing day.

//5. I used to hate to read. It wasn’t until I got to college that I found myself enjoying it again. And now all I do all the time is read. But I love it! I always buy books in hopes that someday I might actually have time to read them. That doesn’t always happen, but I will get around to them eventually.

//4. The very first real song I learned to play on guitar was “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles.

//3. Last months I used 3450 text messages, the most I’ve used in one month to date.

//2. I’ve lived about 1.5 miles from Sandcastle for 23 years, and the first time I ever went there was two summers ago.

//1. The one major dream I have always had as long as I can remember is to ride on a hot-air balloon over some beautiful place at sunset.

1. Aaron Shust – My Savior My God from the Anything Worth Saying album

2. Kyle Andrews – Sushi from the Real Blasty album

3. Chris Merritt – Virginia from the Hello, Little Captain album

4. Paper Route – Are We All Forgotten from the Are We All Forgotten EP

5. Ben’s Brother – Let Me Out from the Beta Male Fairytales album

6. Matt Redman – You Never Let Go from the Passion: Everything Glorious album

7. Mat Kearney – Breathe In Breathe Out from the Nothing Left to Lose album

8. Chris Tomlin – God Almighty from the Hello Love album

9. The New Frontiers – The Day You Fell Apart from the Mending album

10. Tenth Avenue North – By Your Side from the Over and Underneath album

11. Jadon Lavik – Come Thou Fount from the Roots Run Deep album

12. Micah Dalton – The Grandest Prize from the Pawnshop album

13. The Meadows – Been So Long from the Self-Titled album

14. Decemberadio – Drifter from the Self-Titled album

15. Ruth – Cross the Line from the Secondhand Dreaming album