Today is Monday - again. Weekends go so fast. Today hasn't been bad. Not too busy. But I'm so tired today, which is my own fault. Last night I stayed up too late watching "The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" and then when I did get to bed, instead of going to sleep, my stupid brain would not shut off and Charles and I ended up having a 2 hour discussion on infant baptism.
(yes, I know. so random.)
What about you, readers? What are your thoughts? Yay or nay or no opinion?

Then, of course, when I did finally go to sleep I had interesting dreams again. It was a compilation of the weekends events, it seems, in some crazy random order. It started with me getting the job in financial aid here at Asbury and being excited to start our new life here in Wilmore, when Charles gets a letter saying that he was not accepted into the program. (I think this was in my brain because he is currently in the middle of switching degrees). I was so angry that I went, bawling, into the registrar's office to ask why she hadn't accepted him. And she knew that I'd just gotten the job and that now we'd have to move and I'd have to leave the job I'd just started and was excited about. Plus, there was no reason why he shouldn't have gotten in. His grades and everything were fine. But when I asked what reason she had for the denial she said "he didn't have the corner on the market." (Random, you ask? Not so much. We spent Saturday night playing Pit and trying to be the first to get the corner on the market.)
I have a weird brain.

It went on from there, but I don't really remember the rest - only going for a run around a trailor park in the middle of the night and helping a janitor mop the floor of some abandoned building.

In other news, we went to Southland Christian Community (affectionately known as "Fort God") this Sunday. It was okay. I wasn't super impressed. I'm not big on mega-church. I'm not big on performance worship. I'm not big on the sacraments being side-line events... I am impressed with the outreach the church does in the community. I think it's awesome! They seem to be living a lot of what they are preaching, which is good. I've been fed up lately with all the talking the Church does and how little doing is actually going on. But I find it very ironic that their theme is "Simplexity - living simply in a complex world" but nothing about the church, not even the brochure, is simple. I have never seen so many screens, so many lights, so many needless accessories in a church. It was almost sickening.

So - not a bad experience, but I don't think we'll be going there again. We've narrowed it down to 2, I think - a CMA and an Anglican church. I'll let you know what we decide.

Friday has rolled around again! This week went pretty quickly, mostly because we were so busy. Monday morning the billing statements came out. I can see already that that is not going to be my favorite day of every semester. It seemed that everytime I put the phone down I had 15 more messages waiting and a gazillion emails. It was nearly impossible to get my daily work done because of all the traffic. It's the working with people part that I like (most of the time), it just stinks when there are other things you have to get done.

Today slowed down a bit, which was nice. And the staff council held "Staff Olympics" for us. So first of all it meant that we got to wear jeans and sneakers (a pleasant change from prof office attire). Second, it meant that we got all afternoon off (well, I only took an hour because I had work I needed to get done) to play crazy games like office chair basketball and paper airplane launches, etc. It was loads of fun.

But to vent a little bit...
However much I like working with people, sometimes they make you crazy. Wives of students are the worst. In most cases we aren't even allowed to talk to the wife about the husband's financial aid - but they call all angry and rant and rave and it gets really annoying. This week I have made people angry (even though it's not really my fault at all, I just have to be the bearer of bad news) and today I even made one girl cry. Talk about feeling terrible. I can handle the angry people. Usually they are angry because they didn't get money they expected, but they didnt' get it because they didn't read the directions, or emails that were sent to them reminding them of things they had to do, etc. But the girl today - it wasn't her fault either. And she was really nice. So I felt like the biggest jerk ever.

But it's almost the weekend so things are looking up. Our friend Dan's fiance is here for the weekend so tonight we are going over there for dinner and then are going to Lexington for some mini golf. (You know you are in the bible belt when the local minitiature golf is called "Bible Putt-Putt!) That should be fun.

In other good news, Charles got a job at the library! :) He really wanted to work there. They had a lot of people apply, but both he and Robert got jobs there! His boss is married to my boss and she told me today that they were 2 of the top 3 applicants even before their interviews. So that is a huge blessing! God is good! In the meantime, he's been making decent money giving plasma! Who knew that there was such a high demand for it!

That's it! I'm outta here!!!

I have been learning to cook since last year when we moved to Australia and I was forced to make the choice of cook or starve. I chose to cook. And I"ve actually grown to like it. Now, I haven't ever really ruined anything, but I wouldn't call myself gourmet chef. I am usually a bit nervous to cook for people, unless they are seminary guys, because they will eat anything and I'm sure my cooking beats caferteria food or subway 3 times a day.
Well, on Friday I branched out a bit. We went to a party where we had to bring a dish of food to share. So I decided I would try and make my favorite Irish dessert - pavlova. I had never made one before and was a bit nervous to let lots of people eat something I had never tried. (And with a pie, you can't taste it first, because everyone will notice the bite out of it. So I pulled together all the bravery I could muster and took it to the party. I have to admit (and I'm not bragging), that it was the first dessert to go. It was gone in 10 minutes! Then, they gave out awards for best food - AND MY PAVLOVA ONE THE AWARD FOR BEST DESSERT!!!
So in a year I went from "hating to cook - I'd rather eat a block of cheese" to "award-winning dessert maker!" Woohoo!!
I have to say, I was a little proud of myself (but not in a sinful way, of course)! And for my efforts I won the cutest little turtle soapdish. His name is Pavlov (He is a Russian turtle!) and he sits proudly in our bathroom!

On a more serious note, I feel the Lord has been teaching me a lot of lessons lately. Last week's chapel services were focused on prayer and I have been trying to spend more time in serious prayer - actually getting away from the distractions of life for a while every day. This week I really felt the Lord speaking to me about my dreams. I have such wild imaginings of what the Lord can do on this campus and in our community and I get so excited but then get so disappointed when I don't see other people getting excited. But I feel the Lord keeps saying to me, "Cherith, the big dreams that you have or so small compared to what I am dreaming for the Seminary and the community." And I felt Him saying this to me regarding my life, and the life of someone I love who is not walking wholeheartedly with the Lord right now... and it makes me feel so small and makes God so big and so real!

So that's that. And with these, I must get to work. I have big dreams that I will actually get all my work done today! :)

Last night, for the first time in a long time, I slept the whole night. I didn't wake up until 6:15.
However, probably due to the fact that I was sleeping soundly, I starting going back to my old dream world. Here is one dream that I remember.

I was standing on my parents front porch with a girl that lives in my apartment building (that I don't know at all.) My old dog, Sam, (who died when I was 17) was outside on the front lawn. He was really old. It was nighttime and the stars were brilliant! We turned to head into the house when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam start rising into the air. At first I didn't know what was happening (although I didn't seem terribly concerned about my levitating canine) but then realized that he was old, and the Lord was taking him, like he took Enoch. I was thinking to myself "this makes sense. Sam was a faithful dog, and faithfulness to his family (us) is faithfulness to God because God says 'whatever you do unto the least of these my brothers, you do unto me.' And if God cares about every sparrow, of course he loves Sam!" And as it dawned on me that my dear old Sam was going to heaven, I ran outside again and yelled "Goodbye Sam! I love you! Thank you for being such a good dog!!" And I waved and he waved back. (Seriously. I'm not making any of this up.)
So then my parents came home and I said that Sam was gone - that he had been taken up to heaven. And my parents just nodded, like that was how they expected Sam to go.

Ok - second part of the dream. The girl from my apartment building and I are back in Bette Morrison at the top of the stairs, and she starts telling me that she and the guy she lives with(who I thought was her husband) weren't really married because she is so close to her family, and she could never love him as much as she loves her parents, so she has never been able to marry him, although she has tried several times but never can make it through the "leaving and cleaving" part of the ceremony. She also says that she could never marry him because he won't let her get married in her fuzzy white slippers.
We were still talking when, all of a sudden, this hand reaches up through the hand-rails and grabs her foot. She starts kicking and screaming and when I tried to help her he grabbed me and tried to pull me down the stairs. I kicked my shoe off, pulled her leg out of her fuzzy slipper, stepped on his hand really hard (which made him let go of her foot), and then we ran for it. When we ran out of the building, though, we were no longer at Asbury, but we were in a campground. She said there was another campground next store that she was familiar with, so she was going to hide there. I said I thought it would be better if we split up, so I ran into the woods. (Basically, the next portion of my dream was me running and running through the woods. I don't know why I didn't just hide.)

Anyhow, eventually I came out on this road (I knew it wasnt' safe to be on the road) and as I was about the duck into the woods on the other side of the street, a familiar voice called out my name. I looked around and it was my DS and his wife from Australia, walking down the road. They said they were in town for an international convention! Well, I was super happy to see them and plus, I thought I would be safer being with them. And they told me they would walk with me to my parents camper, which was at the other end of the campground. And I knew I would be safe there. Because (somehow I knew this), the guy who tried to kidnap me didn't know my parents or know that they were staying at the campground.

Eventually we made it to the edge of the camp, where the pop-up was. I said goodbye (which was sad - I feel like I'm always saying goodbye to someone I care about) and then ran down to the camper. (I had to run through a 5 story house full of Mexicans to get there.) I was just feeling the relief at being safe when I saw that my parents had closed the pop-up for the night while they went to town. All there was was a couch, sitting out in the open, which was not safe at all.

This next part of the dream is a little fuzzy. I'll just skip to the end - since this is getting long anyway.

After sitting outside the camper for most of the day, I figured it was safe to return. As I walked back into the main part of the campground, I heard celebration noises and saw that a wedding was just concluding. I was pretty hungry so I thought I'd crash the reception. I went to sneak a peak at the bride and groom and got the shock of my life. It was the girl from my apartment and the guy who tried to kidnap us. It turned out that that was her fiance, and she was supposed to be getting married that day (again!) and he was coming to get her to make sure she went through with it this time. Apparently she had finally gotten through the whole ceremony, but was bawling her eyes out, like she wasn't very happy about it. (He did let her wear her fuzzy white slippers, though.) We all went outside and starting feasting and celebrating and I was in the middle of a theological conversation with my buddy Dan...

and then I woke up.

I have a few minutes left of my lunch hour and I just came inside.

Today is one of those days where you think it just might kill you to be inside. It's the perfect temp, the sun is shining, the humidity is non-existent (which is rare in KY) and you can think of a gazillion things you'd rather be doing (baseball, going for a walk, reading a book on the bench, even gardening or washing windows) than sitting inside at your desk.

And that is my fate today.

So I finally figured out why you had to scroll all the way down to the bottom to read my blog. It's because the stupid picture I had was too big. I don't know how to change the size, so I just deleted it. I'll get my husband to fix it someday. But since I'm sure most of you that read this already know what I look like, it's not a big deal. :)

It's amazing how fast time is flying now that I"m into a routine. This past weekend was a whirlwind. I've been doing a lot of reading lately. A friend of ours is really into Rob Bell (Nooma video series) and let us borrow a couple of books. Saturday I read "Sex God" which was insightful and thought provoking. It wasn't just about sex, but about sexuality, which encompasses many things. Now I'm reading Velvet Elvis. It's so good. Rob Bell is deep yet not difficult to understand. But he makes you think. I am in chapter 2 and every page has challenged me. If you haven't read it, I'd encourage you to. It's a look at what Christianity truly is and what it looks like/should like in our lives and in our world.

I was going to audit a class this semester and then the beginning of the year came up so fast that I totally missed out. I'm still so torn about what I want to pursue. A little direction would be so nice. I'm considering the MA in Counseling. It's practical, interesting and it would be a good complimentary skill to go along with what Charles would like to do. The feedback I've gotten from the counselors and social workers that I know has all been very positive. And I love psychology and think the human mind is fascinating. Yet something is holding me back. I dont' know what it is.

Lately I've also been considering an MA in Theological Studies. I love theology. My favorite times of the week are when we sit around with friends and discuss theology and the Church and where it's headed and where we've lost track of what we are supposed to be doing, and what our calling is, and how Jesus called us to live, etc. I would to make Theology my vocation. But what if I do get an MATS? That's just another impractical degree like the BMus in Composition that I already have, isn't it? Unless I decide to be a professor. Or a pastor. And I'm not sure I want to be either of those things. To be honest, I just want to be a full-time thinker and discusser. hahaha - I'm sure there is a huge need for that. If there was, I'm sure the positions would be filled already. I just wish I had some direction.

Speaking of direction, I got to attend chapel 3 times last week. Wednesday was a special staff/faculty chapel. All the new staff members were "commissioned" by the president. It was a beautiful time of worshipping together, partaking of the eucharist together and learning about what our ministry here is. It really opened my eyes to what I'm doing here. One of the woman from Advancement spoke about her Asbury journey and it blew my mind. She said she got the job here to make ends meet for her family after her marriage fell apart. And she was was working the job trying to discern what the Lord was calling her to when she realized that her calling and her ministry was to work in Advancement. Now, this may not seem like any big revelation to you, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Don't get me wrong - this job is a huge blessing and an answer to prayer. The way the Lord opened up the doors for this job blows my mind and there is no doubt that this is where I am supposed to be. But to be honest, I never really considered it a "calling." I thought of it as a blessing and a sign of the Lord's provision for us - a job where I can on campus, which not only saves us gas money and gives us cheaper insurance, it allows me to be a part of the Asbury community, which I wanted so much, but basically it was a job where I can make ends meet to support Charles in his calling.

After that chapel, though, I realized that this is a ministry. It isn't just a job. I am here, not to just help people to financially get through grad school, but that I am here to serve the students who are training to be ministers of the gospel. It's huge. And yeah, it's a job, but it's so much more than that. I don't just get to sit in an office and answer questions, I get to be a part of the community around me and my job is significant. It has changed my attitude toward having to answer a gazillion emails and phone calls everyday - because all of a sudden it's not an interuption from all the work I need to get done, it's another chance to serve someone and, hopefully, be a blessing to them. So perhaps, for this time in our lives, this is my calling.

On a different note, it's been a blast having Robert's Wii in our apartment! Our apartment is always full of people, it seems. But it's great! I like that I can play a video game and get exercise at the same time (the boxing is a really good work-out!) and that it's something both Charles and I enjoy!

I've been working really hard to control my temper this year - and that is true for during games as well. My competitive streak can get a little out of control. So I have been thoroughly tested, between racquetball and wii, but I haven't been doing too bad. :) It's funny to play with other really competitive people now.

I guess I should wrap this up. It's time to get back to work!

Like my husband, I too have decided to come out of the trenches and go public again. I really hope that 3 months was long enough for those who were not reading this because they know me and care about me and desire to hear my thoughts on life (even when sometimes jaded or cynical) to stop reading it. I will say that if I get any rude comments, this is being blocked again. I could just block all comments, but I really appreciate hearing your thoughts, friends!

I just hated that people who wanted to read it every once-in-a-great-while couldn't. Plus, I feel I'm in a place again where I am not so angry and cynical. But if I am, I should darned well be able to speak my mind on my own blog. So if you're offended, I'm sorry in advance. Maybe we could talk about it or maybe you can just take it and not worry about it. I am sure that everyone who reads this will not see eye to eye with me. Most people do not see eye to eye on every single issue. But I do like a good conversation and a good debate. But please do not be rude. I have had enough of that in the past.

Charles and I are starting to really settle in and make a lot of friends. I can't tell you what a joy it is to be surrounded with friends! We have so many! I can't remember the last time it was (probably when we lived with the Hoyts) that we have had so many thought-provoking, challenging and fun conversations. I sure this is just the beginning of four years of hard core spiritual formation - of thinking and changing and digging deep into oneself to see who we really are and who we were created to be. Plus, we have a plethora of people to play baseball and wiffleball with! Woohoo!
Thursday and Friday was orientation. I had to work through most of it but really enjoyed what I was able to be apart of. Friday night there was new couples orientation. They have great programs for the working spouse (which Charles, to my annoyance, loves to call the "sugar-mama" - and there are lots of us here) and I am so excited about that. Of all the places Charles applied to, Asbury was the only one who sent something to me, saying that they knew and appreciated the challenges I was going to face in being the spouse of a student and that they wanted me to feel like I was a part of the Asbury community as well. I think that working here helps a lot with that, and I can't imagine how hard it must be for those who work off-campus. But there is still a difference in being staff than a full-time student. I am getting more and more excited to audit a class or start a new degree next semester. I just see how people are challenged and changed here, and I want to be a part of it.

I do have some reservations about the seminary. But I am beginning to look more at trying to change things from the inside rather than bolting when there is something you don't like. (Sometimes bolting is appropriate. Like if your mental health is on the line.) I'm starting to see things in a new way and analyze them differently. I love that so many people here are trying to get out of this funk that it seems the Church has gotten itself into and are trying to go back to Scripture and live like Jesus did (and like He calls us to live). I can see some people coming out of Asbury being very influential in the Church of the near-future. And it makes me excited. And it makes me want to be a part of it.

It also makes me want to go inside and stop being eaten alive by mosquitos. We don't have internet in our apt yet so i've been sitting outside the library being feasted on. Gross. Oz mozzies didnt' like me much. I don't think I got bit once the whole year. American mozzies, on the other hand, must think I have sweet blood.

Tomorrow is labor day and it is the first paid holiday I have ever had. Booyah!

Three cheers for the long weekend!