As the New Year approaches...

I've been thinking lately about the goals and resolutions I will set for 2010. I have been thinking about how I can simplify and live a more productive life, now that I am out of school (well, for a while anyway). I know, simplify and production don't usually go together. However, I truly believe that if I focus on what's important I will be more productive and life a calmer life.

So, here are some things I am going to attempt in 2010 (with some longer range goals included). These are meant to challenge me in areas of personal growth, ministry and faith. I will try to update you as I go along this coming year so you can know where I stand on each of these.

1. Read at least 1 book a week on a variety of topics. (faith, leadership, ministry, education, adult learning, cognition, fiction, economics, etc.)

2. Workout at least 4 times a week. (This may mean walking around the block...I want to participate in a 5k in 2011.)

3. Spend time being really present with people.

4. Journal and write reflectively (be it poetry, prose, or painting..just some form).

5. Work to simplify finances and dependency on others in this area. (Paying down bills, eating at home, etc.)

6. Take advantage of free entertainment and activities. (or those of little cost in the community.)

7. Begin researching ideas, topics and information for a DMin project.


Ok, so that list doesn't seem simple, but it will keep me focused on things I think are important, namely learning and living. We will see how it works out in 2010.

Grace and Peace.

Finished...but not really.

Yesterday I graduated from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. It has been a five year journey--well worth it. I have learned more about life and love and scripture than I ever could have hoped to know before entering. I have been changed for the better (at least, in my opinion).

And yet, I know this is not the end of the journey in learning, but the beginning. I have so much more to learn. So many things I want to learn. So many other fields I want to explore. In fact, I told three or four professors that I would be back in three to four years to begin work on a doctorate at Truett. I am already thinking about possible projects and areas of study.

So, now, it is off to find a place to serve full-time where I can use what knowledge I have and gain more knowledge along the way.

Reflection

I spent last night with an amazing group of teenagers at Immanuel Lutheran in Killeen. Vicar Heidi asked me to be an adult presence and I am more than grateful for the opportunity. Below are some of my reflections from the night and from life in recent days--written down between 3-4am when everyone started to fade. I am not much of a poet, but it seemed to be the most natural way to reflect and express the things I saw and felt. I may go back at a later date and work on them in terms of wording and literary technique, but for now I leave them as they came to me. Grace and Peace.


Light

It’s all around but rarely seen
The darkness comes and crowds it out
Glimmers and sparkles flicker dim
In this world of pain and sorrow

The Light is bigger, stronger, brighter
It shines in the midnight
Gives sight in the day
Makes things whole, puts the dark to flight.



Tears

A parent with cancer
A family split apart
Grieving friends left behind

Bitterness of heart
Aches without any words
Wounds that do not heal

Fears about the future
A Dad who lost his legs
Anger for injustice

And in the silence
Surrounded by candle light
Sniffles are heard and shared.

The Sacred Meal

The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher is the latest book I have read for the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. She shares her experiences and reflections from her work as a Lay Eucharist Minister in The Episcopal Church. Her understanding focuses on three aspects of the communion meal: waiting, receiving and the afterward. In waiting she prepares herself for what is to come by allowing herself to "let go" of the past week. Then, she receives as she opens her hands and hears the familiar phrase "The Body of Christ, The Bread of Heaven." The afterward is a time of realizing the magnitude and holiness of sharing a meal together at the table of the Lord.

I really appreciated her approach to understanding the Eucharist. I found Gallagher's work as a minister at the table to provide a unique perspective for reflecting on the stages and sections of the meal. She helped me realize I need to slow down and experience the wonder of the Eucharist instead of seeing it as something to do and leave behind at the rail.

Gallagher challenged me in my understanding intellectually and spiritually. I am looking forward to approaching the table tomorrow morning as I seek to embody waiting, receiving and the afterward. I would highly encourage others to read and reflect on The Sacred Meal.

Below is a poem I wrote in response to reading this book:

Thanksgiving

We stand and move forward
We wait and watch the crowd
We take our place at the rail
Waiting.

We open our hands and prepare
We listen to words we know
We kneel in silence
Receiving

We stand to leave the front
We walk to take our seats
We stop briefly in the
Afterward