I Have a Friend Named Phil

I have a friend named Phil the Ground Hog. No, I've never met Phil, but he is my friend because as the old story goes if he doesn't see his shadow on Feb. 2 then Spring will be here in 6 weeks & Winter will be over. Phil is my friend because this year he did not see his shadow & it is slowly but surely starting to warm up around here.

Warming up around here means that it is no longer in the negative temperatures day or night. It means that there are more than single digits being reached by the dial on the thermometer. Today it is not just going to be above zero, but it is supposed to get up to 33 degrees Fahrenheit! Yes, I am hopeful that it will actually reach this & that in the days to come it will only reach higher numbers on the dial.

I may sound a bit crazy talking like this, but just three weeks ago I made the comment out loud that if I ever had to live anywhere further North or colder than it is here that I might die. I would curl into a cold little ball & cease to be. Dramatic, I know. Well, that same day a few hours later Z & I got offered to live 3.5 hours north of here for his internship site for next school year. We had a good laugh about the coincidence of my words & God's call for us.

We immediately were looking things up about our possible future home town. We went to google, we yahooed, we e-mailed & talked with a few friends, and prayed for clarity and guidance. Well we had no red flags & after a week or more of playing the discernment game (that is never-ending) we decided that 3.5 hours north of the cities sounded promising. *sigh of relief* we know where we're going to live next year!

In the mean time I have started my chaplaincy internship. We had 2 weeks of orientation & this was my first week out on the floor full time. It's amazing how working in a new area can push you in new ways so fast. Being that I'm in a hospital I had random memories of my past flickering in & out. I then get to think about what exactly brings those on & why I'm still holding on to some things & not others & how I can use them for the betterment of God's ministry. The coming months of chaplain work are sure to teach me more about myself & the ways that I work with others.

January was a very long month or so it seemed with the bitter cold temperatures & the almost daily new snow fall. Z & I celebrated one year of dating & decided that there will be more important dates to remember for the future. Wedding stuff is just that. If anybody wants to grow pots of grass for us let us know (they're part of our centerpieces). Life is good. Jack Frost can go live somewhere else for a good 5 or 6 months now!