Hobbies?

Beginning a new job means lots of get to know you conversations. I know that my days at church for the next several months will be filled with them constantly. You know, the kind of interactions that start like, "Where are you from?" or "What do your parents do?" or even "What do you think of the weather up here?"

All of these I expected. I had answers prepared. But the one question I've heard over and over that I seem to stumble my way into answering is: "What are your hobbies?" (And in fact, one of the members on my ordination council asked me this too-- thanks, Mark). I've actually been searching for something good to say that actually is a reflection of who I am.

My answers have seemed dumb to me as I've only been able to utter things such as traveling (I love going anywhere I haven't been, but now I'll be in town for awhile it seems), watching the t.v. show the Gilmore Girls, scrapbooking (even though I'm more than a year behind), and going to the gym (although I haven't done this in months, I'm sad to report). "Don't I enjoy more than this?" I've thought. Do have anything outside of work that brings me real joy?

My new D.C. friend Kerry has also inspired me to think about my out my non-work passions through her example. Kerry loves sailing and has recently reconnected to the sport via being a volunteer crew member for some people who own their own boats in the area. It is a joy to watch her talk about how much she enjoys her days on the water. It makes me happy for her to know she is pursuing something that she finds so fun.

Yet, even as I reflected on this, I still couldn't think of anything I truly loved in the hobby catagory. However, I recalled other hobby type activities of mine that I will now add to the list of "What my hobbies are" when I'm asked again soon.

1. Blogging. I'm proud of myself for being faithful to this writing discipline over the course of the year-- it makes me happy to know that I'm sharing my thoughts with people like yourself.

2. Cooking. I've been told baking is one of my spiritual gifts. Maybe it is just the southern woman in me, but I love hosting dinner parties-- setting the table for a group of people makes me gitty in fact. I'm so glad I now have two dining room tables in my new house.

3. Dancing. Going out to a dance club on a weekend night or being at weddings where people actually dance is so much fun! (even though these Saturday nights out will be cut short with church the next day). Hip hop is my favorite- you just have to drag me away when it is time to leave because I find a lot of energy in being in such a setting. I also took many years of ballet as a child. During my second year of seminary I enrolled in an adult ballet class, and am considering getting back in it again (now that I'm getting a regular paycheck).

I know to stay sane in this fishbowl called ministry, I've got to be faithful to time away from work via hobbies and especially the friends who come with them. So thanks for all the questions about hobbies, new friends, as you have reminded me to pursue them!

Many Warm Fuzzies

It is crazy all of the huge changes that seem to be upon me in the next couple of weeks— I’ll start my first full-time job, move into my first house, be ordained to the ministry, move out of the “community” living setting that I’ve been in for a couple of months and be on my own, as well as live in a new town. It has actually been quite overwhelming to me over the past several days. Did I really ask for all of this? (The answer is yes). While I realize that change is a part of the natural human experience, whenever large amounts of it come anxiety begins to find me. It is hard to take it all in.

But then simultaneously, I realize how blessed I am to be surrounded by such wonderful people who are lovingly helping me through this transition, people who are cheering me on, people who want to see me do well in all the things that lie ahead of me.

People who understand when I cancel a social engagement because I just need to be at home on the couch after a long day of organizing things for my new life . . .

People who forgo their Sunday afternoon nap to help me go shopping for the thousand things I need for my new house . . .

People who skip church to meet my moving van in North Carolina so that my stuff can safely arrive in Maryland . . .

People who take time off of work to help me run errands and fix things up around the house. . .

People who listen to me vent over the phone . . .

People who go out of their way to make me feel welcomed and appreciated in my new position . . .

And, people who get up early on a Saturday morning to attend my ordination council and then plan my ordination service.

For these reasons and many more, I am glad to be resident of Maryland now (although of course I’m still a Duke fan). I’m so thankful to be surrounded by a loving community of friends and colleagues who bridge the gap for me when my closest relatives are miles away. This time and this place are good places to be, especially with all fabulous people I know in it.

Time to Celebrate

Well, it is official: I have a job! I can hardly believe that I am now employed beginning work at the end of this month. I am going to be in an associate pastor role at First Baptist Gaithersburg, MD. (Check out their website and see a picture of their building below). My official title will be Pastor of Education and Youth. Exciting things about this position are the fact that I will get to work alongside a very creative team of pastors and get to share general pastoral responsibilities with the rest of the staff. Plus, I get to remain in the area of the country that I love!

I preached a "call sermon" yesterday based on the lectionary passage of Mark 10:17-31 and was voted in via a secret ballot after the service. It was a new experience-- I've never preached for a vote before. But, in the end all was well and I feel very affirmed by this congregation.

I also will be ordained to the gospel ministry on November 4th at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC at 2 pm which will occur during my first week of work.

Change is in the air around here. It's kind of scary of course, but what I've been working toward for a long time. It has been worth the wait!

Jesus Coming to You

How would you feel if this van showed up in your yard? Would you greet it friendly or would you run and hide?

I would be afraid.

And I was when I first laid sight on it this weekend while visiting Sylvania, GA. It was a quiet Monday afternoon as Kevin, his mom and I were driving around town in area where his family owned several rental properties. And then I saw this! I made Mrs. Hagan stop the car. I had to take a photograph, just to make sure my vision wasn’t deceiving me.

Once I got over my initial shock, I asked if anyone knew what exactly the purpose of this van was. I learned that the owner of the van created his ministry for himself. He called himself an independent evangelist and went to visit people carry food and then shared the plan of salvation with them.

While I am not a fan of door-to-witnessing, gospel presentations that emphasis neither the blood of Christ nor overt displays of Christianity that keep a person from being in the world, I did find something redeeming about this van ministry.

He gave out food!

James 2:14-17 says: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

And I agree. Often times sharing the gospel comes in what we do, not necessarily what we say. Remember the famous saying of St. Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.”

Often times the social gospel movement which was popular in the early twentieth century gets a bad rap, but I have to believe that Christian leaders like Walter Rauschenbusch (who was a Baptist preacher in fact) where on to something when they said we as a society are all responsible for the meeting the physical, social and emotional needs of humankind. We can’t just preach Jesus and sit at home doing nothing to help those who go without basic human needs.

So, kudos to my unknown friend in Sylvania for meeting some of these needs of those the community.

Just let me know if you see any other sighting of Jesus on Wheels. He may be coming to a town near you soon.

Quick Update

I wanted to let the blog world know that all is well on two fronts-

1. I got a new cell phone. I kicked myself for not being able to find my other one. Luckily, my friends at Sprint gave me a great deal on a new phone (I got it for free) plus more minutes a month for cheaper than I was paying before. I'm excited about re-connecting with my love of communication (my favorite hobby) and not being dependant on the land line anymore.

2. And more importantly, my cousin Tammie Carey, 34 who recently had open heart surgery (see blog on 9/28/06) came home from the hospital. She seems to be amazing doctors with how well she is doing. I hope her recovery time continues to go well especially as her 11 and 5 year old children have to camp out at grandma's (my aunt Ann's) until then.

Thanks for your interest in these crisis of mine and for your prayers for my cousin, especially.

Going to Space!

So, what does a girl do with some time off? Well recently (much to my surprise) I’ve found myself visiting several space museums. First, it was in Huntsville, AL a couple weeks ago while at my parents’ house. My good friends Kristina and Richard came down from the Nashville area to visit. So, after my having brunch, the four of us found our way downtown to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Museum. Highlights included the simulation rides and the IMAX movie. This museum had a large outside exhibit area (as you can tell from the pictures below). Kevin looks like an ant next to the rocket!
Then, on Monday, the children whom are currently my housemates and I took the Metro to the National Mall in DC. We strolled along Smithsonian Row (as some people call it) and found ourselves exploring the Air and Space Museum. Some of our favorite activities were in the “How Does It Fly?” room and of course the Food Court was a big hit too. As you can tell from the picture below, Sam was really happy with me after we had ice cream.


It’s great to have time to be a tourist sometimes, especially as I’m living in a city with a thousand things to do! Making time to explore “space” is well worth the time if you get the chance.

Cell Phone Missing

Ok, so I know there are a lot of things worse than this. But I have to confess I feel a little bit lost right now. My friends and family must be thinking I’ve disappeared into the land of people who refuse to return phone calls or turned into that rude person who moves to a new city and changes their number without telling anyone.

But really I wouldn’t have asked for this torture. Who would?

For several years now, I switched over to being totally cell phone dependant. No land lines to tie me down. Just living on the freedom that only a mobile phone with lots of minutes can bring . . . I haven’t used brain power in years to remember anyone’s number (the only number I know by heart is my parents’ landline) nor have I had to plan my day around being at home to receive a particular call. But now this is my lot. I have a ton of post-its in my wallet with important numbers on them and am homebound waiting on people I need to speak to call me.

As much as I miss the opportunity to multi-task with talking while driving my car or even having the ability to actually speak to people when they call instead of waiting for voicemails and then call backs afterwards, I actually feel like I’m on some sort of retreat or something. I’ve been given the opportunity to rest from one of my favorite hobbies, communication (well, at least the oral kind). And I’m realizing that one can live without a cell phone just as I was trying to explain to my 12 year old friend Hayden the other day. Post-its in your wallet do just fine. Plus, my new phone should be here by Thursday so all will be well in the world again soon!

But, if you are one of the people inclined to call me sometime, please email me your phone number as now I’m starting over in the land of cell phone book entries. Otherwise you too will fade into the land of people who are unreachable.