Officially Completed

 Yesterday when I arrived home I checked my mail and had a special treat waiting inside my mailbox.... It was my diploma for my masters degree! It arrived! I was so excited! It means that I am ALL DONE with school. I had completed my work a few months ago, but there is always the process of making sure everything gets filed correctly, and processed correctly, so I wasn't going to assume that anything was done until I had the diploma in my hands. And now I do!! Hooray!! So, the picture of my nicely hung diploma is here (thanks Billy- we hung the frames almost a month ago and it's been hanging up there empty next to my Messiah degree since then). Thanks for all your help and encouragement in this process. It feels good to be done!! (sitting below the diplomas are the plethera of birthday cards that I received this year- thanks friends!)

Also- I have finally uploaded a few pictures from my new place. It's pretty much completed to where it's going to be... just a few minor touches here and there. You can look at the album here. Enjoy!!

GRADUATE!

Well folks, it is official, I am done with graduate school!! I had my graduation ceremony 3 weeks ago, last week I presented my final project, and this morning I put the FINAL product in the mail. It is done!! Last night after I finished all my edits and I emailed it off, I put all my notebooks and notes and books back on the bookshelf- it was a major accomplishment!

It feels good to have completed something that I have worked on for so long... The project itself I have been working on for almost a year, and the degree- I took my first 9 credits 6 years ago this summer! I can't believe it! I also can't believe that I actually finished. I distinctly remember a conversation that I had in my last year of Messiah when some of my friends were talking about getting further degrees and I said "When I graduate from here- I AM DONE. No more school for me!" And then 3 months later Geneva sucked me in. But I have loved the program, the classes, the work, the professors, the classmates, and the things that I have learned. It has truly been a wonderful experience- and now I have a Masters Degree!

The next part is the scary part... trying to put this degree to work! I'm going to be looking for jobs in higher education. The looking part is scary, but I am excited to work in this field. Hopefully there will be updates of that nature sooner than later, but for now, the church will do just fine.

graduate school and some fun in WV

It's again been awhile since I have written anything....I think that I like this blog world, but it takes a bit of getting used to...

Last week I spent 5 days in Wheeling, WV for "winter institute," which is my winter session for the Geneva HED Program. I spent about 5 hours each day in class, several more in fellowship with members of the program, and the other days visiting with my friend Katie, who was gracious in her hospitality, and her friends in Wheeling. She is recruiting me to move to the "city of lights" (as I think they call themselves), and while I don't have a job or anything to move there, the week proved richer than I thought it would.

I realize that the thing that I miss the most about life after the CCO, particularly being at a place like Lisa's Cleaning Service, LLC. is community. It is a very tiring (physically), but also emotionally, place. I do not realize how much my spirit is beaten down until it is build up again being surrounded by HED and CCO folks. Being in class again was quite life giving, good to just be around folks with the same goals and questions and passions and to wrestle with some ideas that I seem to leave behind while I am scrubbing houses. It was also a good time to get to know some new folks, but my time with Katie was by far the most life giving. We met at CCO training almost 5 years ago, and she has just been a fun person in my life. She lives in the big old house in downtown, with a wine shop in the first floor. I helped stock wine, enjoyed some reading and relaxing time, and just fellowshipped with her and her friends, as she let me in on her life there. It was truly a blessing. I leave now to send her a thank you card. :)

It is good for God to send me times like this, where I remember that there is more to life out there than what I am experiencing now, and that hopefully he is preparing something even better for the future.

blessings to you this new year, may you find rich experiences as well....