A little catching up

Just got through my first full week back in class.  It's amazing how two weeks off can feel like a blink - a blink.  That blink did not prepare me for a grueling eight-week term; the summer term is tough because while it's shorter, the classes still cover the same amount of material as a class that would normally be completed in twelve weeks.  We just cram a whole lot in.  I'm only taking three classes and I'm already feeling the heaviness  - where does all my time go?  Will I ever not be scrambling?  Will I ever get to play?  Will I ever get to exercise?  Will I ever get to see my friends?  Will I ever get to see my husband?  Somehow, I do.  Somehow, it does.  The dust settles after it's been stirred up with new classes, professors, and schedules.  Then the dust is kicked around by an all new set of emotions to go along with all the newness, all the emotionality of the classes I'm in (because Mars Hill classes are not complete without emotional and spiritual intensity - I thought it might be different this term for some reason.  Silly me).


When asked the go-to question of the week, "How was your break?" my response was typically, "Busier than I wanted it to be, but full of both work and fun."  I did - I worked a lot, or what felt like a lot.  Somehow 15 hours a week really piled up on me.  I managed to be in the MHGS building, at some point during the day for some amount of time, for 75% of my break.  That's a lot.  That's what I get for working two jobs at my school.  But I also got a sweet visit from my mom and sister, I read a book for pleasure (although I didn't finish it), went to a baseball game with my favorite person, and spent a warm, sunny day on an island with my hubby (who is my previously-mentioned favorite person) and my friends. 

Squeeze his face - I do all the time.

I got to go to my first Seattle concert.  I felt truly ashamed that it took me almost two years to see a concert in Seattle; I mean, that's my thing.  That's what I do.  Two years?! Really?!  Appalling.  Seattle is music city central.  


T and I, and a couple of friends, managed to get tickets to one of the two completely sold out The Head and the Heart shows.  Lucky, lucky ducks we are.  The energy in that little theater was overwhelming; as a recent convert to the wonders of The Head and the Heart, I wasn't quite prepared for the cult-following they had.  In between every song, one guy just kept screaming, "Seattle loves you!!" (as The Head and the Heart are from Seattle).  It was really fun to be a part of.

Also over the break (after getting a baby kitty shnooks and the big Mars Hill name change event), T and I volunteered at the Inhabit Conference that my school was hosting in partnership with a couple of other organizations.  

1. Why Inhabit? …for an end of talking heads.It’s time for stories that come from the embodied experiences of seasoned missional practitioners in place!

2. Why Inhabit? …for an end to utilitarian leadership.It’s time to ask “What is really worth following?” Is it just those who wield the greatest influence? Or, is it people whose lives bear the fruit of loving God, loving their neighbor, and stewarding the ground they walk on?

3. Why Inhabit? …for the beginning of rooted collaboration.Our guides are not just coming to talk – they are experienced listeners who have come to tease out your stories from the ground, to nurture synergies, intersections, and change-making relationships!

It. was. Amazing.  Yes, with a capital "A" as if it were divine.  Granted, we were working for most of the conference so we didn't get to participate too much, we were lucky enough to hear the keynote speakers: Majora Carter (whom I want to be, who is my hero, whom I currently have the most profound woman-crush on ever) and Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil.  Both of these women are absolutely outstanding.  I'm not sure exactly what I was left with from hearing these two women speak and being in the midst of the energy of that conference, but it was powerful stuff.  What a celebration of and invitation to invest in the places - cities, neighborhoods, communities - that we're in.  Don't get too excited, Mom, but it really made me anxious to get back to North Carolina - to plant roots, to build lasting relationships, and to locate myself somewhere that I'm committed to.  We're still not rushing back after I graduate, but I feel encouraged and hopeful about wherever it is that we end up.  I'm excited to let my neighborhood matter to me, rather than being so transient that I'm unaffected, no matter where I am or where I'm not.


So at this point I'm writing, and I'm not sure to what end.  I wanted to share about my first couple of classes, but now that I've written all this stuff to catch up, my carpel tunnel is catching up instead.  The call of nature calls - in the form of shoulder, elbow, and hand pain.  Just so you do know, if it matters, I am taking Ethics, the second round of Practicum (you may remember me taking that my first year at MHGS), and Counseling Children and Adolescents.  I'm sure I'll have lots to say as the term goes on - I can already tell they're going to knock me on my hiney a time or two.