present & future

as promised, UPDATES!

my youth job--I am so pumped up for this weekend! after lots of thinking and planning, I'm ready to get to the doing part. our focus verse for our large group gathering is Jeremiah 1:4-10. I came across this while I was reading Crazy Love (Francis Chan). He referenced the passage, which completely struck a chord with me, especially because the prophet is quoted as saying, "I'm too young." What a perfect message for a youth group when we're going to talk about what it means to be the youth group. I want these teens to hear God's answer to Jeremiah: No! You're not too young--I have called you & set you apart for this very purpose. I will help you speak. You need not fear anyone or anything because you are mine.

We've got a calendar up & running (which, by the way, I succeeded in putting up on the church website, thank you very much), and I can't help but wonder how many of those events I will get to see to fulfillment. I spoke briefly to a member of our hiring committee, and it sounds like they have found a strong candidate for the permanent position. it's just such a strange place to be in--not knowing how far to cast my vision, how much to reorganize, revitalize, and restructure. i want to do my job to the fullest, and be the best youth leader I can be--but it is temporary. perhaps very temporary. and I am thankful for that--because i can't be here past May one way or the other. the youth need someone permanent after such a year of transition. but it's going to be hard to get so jazzed for ministry, only to reign it back in, at least in a certain sense, and pass the buck to someone else, without having held onto it very long myself.

it sounds like i'm doubting whether this work i'm doing will make an impact in such a short time. yet I'm certain that God has great plans for this time, and great plans for our kids.

Emory visit--Atlanta is starting to look like a real nice place to spend the next 3 years! My event at Candler was phenomenal--we were treated like royalty! Over the course of the visit, I met & interacted one-on-one with faculty, felt like the admissions staff were my new best friends, toured around the city & beautiful campus, worshiped in an amazing space with great ecumenical awareness, sat in on a few classes in small settings, visited a potential contextual education site, and met some amazing fellow applicants--hopefully some will soon be fellow classmates! It was so nice to interact with people whose current goals, ideals, vocational aspirations, and beliefs were so like my own, but at the same time, we all had different stories to tell & different things to bring to the table. I can't wait for that community full-time!

Full-tuition scholarships aside, Emory is sitting pretty at the top of my list right now. And I've crossed Dook off the list. The program at Emory is so much more what I am looking for, in every way. Their focus is broader--I can go there & get a certificate in religious education AND spend my ecclesial contextual education setting in a Christian school. At Duke, I was made to feel like an oddity because I am not seeking ordination. The heart of Candler--what they're all about, seems so in line with what my heart is seeking. I almost wonder if I should even prolong my decision to wait for BU scholarship decisions or Princeton admittance. Even in all the non-essential details, Atlanta has an advantage--warmer & closer to home. And they have sweet tea.

summer--I've applied for an urban ministry/youth ministry job this summer, as I've mentioned here before. No real updates there--just that my application & references have been received as complete. Here's my conundrum, though. This job is EXACTLY what I was looking to do this summer--but I'm wondering if I should apply elsewhere. It's scary to throw all of yourself at one opportunity. What happens if it doesn't work out? I NEED to get away from Charlotte and go live & experience a bit more of the world. So do I search for other ministry jobs & spend my time apply to them, even as second-hand choices? Just to make sure that I have a place to serve (in a place that will keep me sane)? Opinions welcome :)