Divining the secrets of my mind

Because Facebook Told Me So

This morning Facebook informed me that I was in a relationship.  I knew that I was dating her, and that we really liked each other.  But until this morning, I wasn't really sure that I had a girlfriend.  Isn't it funny how that works, that a website is necessary for me to understand/confirm my relationship status?

The semester, as I said before, is shaping up to be an interesting one.  Time is one of those words whose meaning eludes me.  Sleep isn't far behind.  But life is going well.

It's been a while (to put it mildly) since I have actually had a girlfriend.  I've dated girls over the past few years, but nothing serious ever came out of it.  I am finding that it brings it's own level of joy and stress to any given situation.  But the joy certainly outweighs any of the negatives associated with the relationship (at least for me).

It simply helps me to remember that we are social creatures.  And while that can be difficult at times, my days have definitely been better, and Amber Lee has certainly been a large part of that.

On a final note, somehow I managed to jump ladders without realizing it (though to be honest guys rarely know which ladder they are on until it is too late).  So, I think I've earned a gold star for the week.

Kinda Like Spraying Febreeze All Over It

At the end of last semester, I was just about ready to throw my arms in the air and just walk away from school.  I do not know exactly what it was, and I doubt it was any one thing that led me to feel disgruntled (to put it mildly) toward continuing my Seminary education.

Because of this, I did not do much this past summer.  I was effectively a recluse, hiding away from the world.  In a way, it was a pretty lame way to spend a summer.  But it also gave me a chance to rebuild my resolve, to focus and find direction again.

I have now made it through one week of the fall semester at Emmanuel.  This semester will be daunting to say the least.  I have two classes that are reading intensive, one that is exclusively reading, and Hebrew (which is it's own nightmare).  To sum it up, my nose will be in a book for a couple of hours each day in order for me to get everything read that needs to be.  Despite this, I am rather excited about this semester and what it has to offer.  I am looking forward to my classes, the discussions and the challenges that are presented.  I might not feel this way in three months, but at least for now, operation "Summer Rejuvenation" seems to have worked.

On top of this, as mentioned before, I have started playing Ultimate again.  And I will be working more than I have in the past as well, participating more heavily in church, and I want to spend more time playing with my little metal toys.  In the end, this means that I really will not have much free time left to goof off.  But I have found that I am usually the type of person who does better, not worse in such circumstances, and so I hope that I can finish out my classes at Emmanuel with strength and power.

I now understand why many ministers take sabbaticals.  Sometimes we need simply to take some time away from our own lives and just let God heal us.  We can quickly and easily become caught up in worry and fear about our lives, we can be led to frustration, anger or depression.  We simply have to realize that while that time of healing and cleansing is good and necessary, when it is over, it becomes time once again to work diligently for the causes that surround us, for the goals set for us and the road ahead of us.  It is certainly okay to take time to relax.  But for me, the time of relaxing is over, and the harvest is here.  It is time to go to work.