joy tea time

Here I am at the end of my holiday break. I know you might be thinkin' "it's not over yet?" Lucky for me the 2 J-term classes I've signed up for don't start till next week & only last 2 weeks. This also means each class time is the equivalent of 1 week's class during the normal semester. Needless to say I'm going to have a lot of reading & writing to do. I've already got a reading assignment to start & comment on which needs to get done today. Then right after that my spring semester starts since I'll be working at a hospital as a chaplain intern. The majority of the students have two more weeks till the actual Spring semester starts.

Advent & Christmas flew by this year. Maybe they tend to a little more every year that goes by. God surprised me at the end of the Fall semester with more time than I expected to have to prepare for holiday travels. It was a blessing to not have a final Hebrew exam & to know that the professor really didn't want to put us in our graves worrying about if we were to pass his class. Z & I started off our holiday break with a breakfast date. One year ago on the last day of the Fall semester we had what we like to call our "proto-date." We both were interested in each other, but didn't want to admit it & now here I am typing to you with this fun shiny circular object clinging to my second finger on my left hand. We then traveled to visit some dear friends in WI for the night, surprised one of the pastors that I had worked with a couple of years ago, & introduced Z to a crazy part of my past. From there we traveled into Chicago with hopes of getting to show Z more of the city, but time ran out so we got in a few quality hours with some of my closest friends from college. We made it to my parents later that night. The week was filled with present wrapping, visiting with a few family members & friends, & Christmas celebrations. Within a week we packed up our loot & returned to what I like to call the "cold North."

We then were able to spend a few days with his side of the family. It's fun learning what it means to be a member of each family. I found joy in visiting relatives that could teach us so much about life & the families that we are a part of. I was blown away by the love that was shown through laughter, food, presents, & good conversations. Reflecting on all this makes me think I'm an adult now. Life after 25 is weird!

We brought in the New Year with some good friends back at the seminary. One television stations was on Eastern time so we watched the ball drop at 11pm Central time with a little excitement & then watched it again at midnight with more excitement & some sparkling wine to toast to the New Year.

2010 was an interesting year. It started out in OH with some good friends from college & quickly moved to a few weeks on the East Coast where I stayed in a former Civil War Orphanage for 2 weeks & learned more about my call as a Diaconal Minister at LTSG. It there that I learned about the earthquake in Haiti & how some of my classmates close friend had passed away due to complications in the earthquake. It was there that I learned another good friend was given 2 months to live & that an elderly gentleman from my home church had passed away & his wife wasn't to be too long behind him. I also got to visit some good friends that I never see because they live out there & I don't. Then I reversed my travels & wasn't back in MN for more than 2 days & Z came in & swept me off my feet. We were attached at the hip pretty quickly. Year one of seminary ended & the adventure of Z & I being long distance for 2.5 months & taking summer Greek flew by. The bets of when Z was going to propose kept coming more prominent amongst our friends. Little did any of us know, including Z, it would happen in his car in the seminary apartments parking lot. The semester flew by with classes, wedding planning, & celebrating with many other friends that also got engaged.

2011 is bound to hold many adventures & much joy. In just over 2 weeks I start working at a hospital for the next couple of months. I've wanted to work in a hospital since I was a little kid. Within the next 1-3 months we find out where we'll be living next year for internship. In the next 5 & 3/4 months we'll be married! In the next 7 months we'll be moved into our first place that's just ours. Who knows how else the Holy Spirit will whip in & around our lives & how God will use us to be like Jesus for those we encounter & each other! In the mean time I'll sit & enjoy my mornings with my cup of joy tea & all the blessings that are a part of my life.