Clean Hands

For the first Ash Wednesday in the three years I have clean hands, with no ash stains. This has made me very sad. I enjoy the special days of the liturgical year and getting to celebrate them as a minister. Yes I am still a minister this year, but it is no longer part of my job to be a part of these wonderful celebrations of the Christian faith. I get to sit in the pew and be a part of the congregation. Some people might see this as a relief, but I find it makes me sad. I want to serve communion, smudge ashes on peoples heads, baptise children, bless the sick and people going on missions, and celebrate the many other Christian year moments.

Just Kidding

So dating is not going to happen for me. I thought I was ready, but realized on my date Saturday that until I stop comparing guys with one of my best friends (John) that I am not going to be ready. Yeah this is a strange realization, but when you have one of the best guys ever as a good friend it is hard to settle for less. I know that things with John and I at one point could have worked out, but now we are living over 20 hours drive from one another and will probably only get to see each other if we are lucky one time a year. Maybe someday we will end up being closer again, but for now I am just going to continue enjoying being single,

I'm dating

So I have been very busy for the past 3 1/2 years and have really not had time to have a romantic life. I decided that now that I am out of school I should try dating again. Well that is a little hard when you are one of the only unmarried young people in your congregation over the age of 20. Well I decided to try Match.com and have been talking to a guy for a week now. Tonight he asked me if I would like to go out! I said yes and tomorrow night I am going to give him and call and we are planing our first date.

I am walking!

For a little over a year I have known that I was going to need an extra semester to graduate. I did graduate and well the decision of walking became a huge topic for me. I have friends who want me to walk and threatened me if I don't. My parents think I should walk because they have been waiting so long for this day. My grandmother and great uncle feel that I am fulfilling their mothers dream of having a minister in the family and want me to walk because they are afraid they will not be alive for my ordination.



Walking at graduation for me has been dependant on if I can take the time off work and if I can afford to go. As of last night I found a great deal on flights $64 one way to Atlanta from Houston. I have asked and been given a week off to go to my graduation and spend time with my family. I bought my tickets, a few graduation announcements for my family to send out, and am working on finding someone who will let me use their Candler Masters hood. I cannot afford one and the registrar at Candler said because I am not attending school right now I probably will not be able to use one of the schools. So needless to say I AM WALKING!!!

Meeting of Minds

This week has been so full for me. I feel like things are falling into place a little more and that I am really making a difference here. Wednesday night I had the best Jr High Bible Study yet. We talked about the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Mainly the differences and how without the Holy Spirit we would be missing out. I got to talk to one of the youth guys that night about how to pray to God and have a meaningful relationship. I felt so empowered.


Yesterday I had a meeting of TYME (Texas Youth Ministers Enrichment). We went to Bo's Place in Houston. It made me so sad. Bo's Place is a house where people with children can go if they lost a child or parent. They have these little dogs named Razen that they give to the kids when they come to the house for the first time. It reminded me of my cousin Jimmy, and how he is still struggling with his sister Allison's death three years ago. I bought him a Razen and am sending it to him next week. At the meeting I meet some other youth ministers that I really got a long with. One of them was really nice and around my age. We talked about different things going on with our youth ministries. It felt so nice to get to talk with someone else who understands what I am going through.