Octoberfest and leaves at their peak....and SO am I!

Greetings all my fellow readers!
Happy Reformation Sunday for all the Lutherans reading! Today was "suppose" to be a day to commemorate the birth of what is now the Lutheran church. In years past, at St. Luke's my home church, as well as others I have attended, this SHOULD be a boisterous day of celebration. With Fanfare, trumpets blazing, Almighty Fortress being sung at the top of your lungs and flags and banners being waved as high as the steeples......yeah, I was sorely disappointed today! NOT the fanfare was expecting. Just an ordinary service. The only difference was that there were those "faithful" Lutheran's who were sure to wear their "RED" today in commemoration....and to match the colors of the church today. Didn't happen today, but I did treat myself to a nice brunch today in Galena with some fellow seminary students who did NOT share my enthusiam for this day, so once again, I felt deflated.
This past Thursday was my birthday. I REALLY was trying to allow people to forget, but there were a few classmates who insisted in remembering it and buying me a small cake with the numbers "29" on top! That definately made me smile! For the last several years, I have always celebrated my birthday with my friend Roxanne, who didn't even remember to call me on my birthday! But Julie on the other hand probably called me about 5-6 times, so she saved the day! I took it as a sign! A sign that birthdays do not need to be a day about remembering your birth but to mark where you have been and looking forward to what is ahead. Perhaps I have been spending too much time in deep thought about my own spirituality these past few months, as most of my classmates have, but I am just amazed of all that God continues for me to have in my life, I am so blessed with many things that many people go without and I am marveled everyday of God's creation, in watching the foliage change here. It is truly stunning. It also makes me mindful of my purpose and calling everyday; and I am so Thankful.
Classes are continuing to go well. It is starting to get very stressful....although I am trying to concentrate on one week at a time; my challenge is, because I a leaving early for Christmas because of my surgery, I am trying to stay one week ahead, but that is becoming a difficult challenge too. I spent 2 whole days REALLY studying hard for my first Jesus and Gospels exam and didn't do well. But I did really well on my first History paper. So I guess I just have to slow down and take my time to get through all this. My work study is continuing to go well. I work at 3 different elementary schools. Each has their own challenging students that I have to learn to work with, but it isn't easy! I was fired this week from my State Farm job; on my birthday! I was only working there 6-7 hrs a week, so NOT a huge loss. I can make up those hours with work study and quite honestly, it was becoming challenging to study those 2 nights after I got off work, because I'd be too exhausted! So perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. I told the employment agency that I'd rather just work on Friday and Saturdays only, so I can keep Sundays as my day off to relax and spend each evening during the week studying. We'll see how it all goes, I guess.
So as I mentioned in my last blog, my knee replacement surgery is scheduled for December 14th...just my left knee to be replaced. I keep going back and forth about whether or not I will have it done. I've just been thinking how "taxing" this is going to have to be on my best friend and her family, since Julie will be the primary one taking care of me. She ALREADY has her hands full with her daughter, husband and life, that to add "taking care of Rosy" after surgery, may be to much to ask. She of course, has told me over and over again, that "they will manage and be ok", but I just don't know if I want to put someone through all this. So there lies my debate....should I or should I not! I KNOW it needs to get done, I'm just wondering if this Christmas is a good time or not. We'll see I guess.
Octoberfest was celebrated here on Campus this Friday. I was feeling sooo sick that I REALLY missed out on all the fun. There was polka dancing, lots of BEER and bratwurst and an all night party. I left around 8:30 because under all the medication I was on to kill my cold, I felt like I couldn;t drink that much beer. But I heard there were others, who were in my class and shall remain nameless, who DID take advantage of all the beer! It was even on of my new Favorites,....."Blue Moon"! Some students even decorated Marty too! Some students carved a HUGE pumpkin and placed it on Marty's head in the main quad. It was a nice touch for all the festivities.
Today in Dubuque, is a BEAUTIFUL Fall perfect day. I just want to take a blanket and lay under one of the big trees outside and watch the leaves fall ALL DAY, but I do have 3 papers to write, so I better get moving.....Peace to all reading and God bless and keep you all.

And the there was....SNOW!!!!

Hello everyone! SOOOO sorry for my delay in posting blogs. Have been swamped this week. We just had our Fall break last weekend...but I spent ALLL weekend studying, so I've been taking a little time to relax yesterday and today, although, I do have MUCH to do!

Last Saturday...we had SNOW! Yes, SNOW in October! It only snowed for a couple of hours and didn't stick; believe it not, it wasn't COLD enough! Although I have been FREEZING here! Just went to Goodwill yesterday to see if I could find some warmer clothes!

Still continuing to work part time at State Farm although I am concerned that I may not be there that much longer. I am suppose to call people and talk them into getting an auto quote for insurance. I am SUPPOSE to get 3-5 people per night on a 3 hr shift twice a week. Last week I had a grand total of "0"...that's right ZERO and the new girl they hired just 2 weeks ago, got all five in less calls and in ONE night! Needless to say, I STINK at telemarketing! Although I have to admit that it has helped me improve my phone presence; at least people don't say I'm being a "b" when I talk to them! I'm just having some serious issues overcoming objections and quite frankly, I don;t want the pressure of the job, so I may not be there that much longer.

This past Thursday in my Spiritual Practices class, we had the opportunity to take some time to work through a paper labyrith, My classmate, "Gravy" (Eric Grayvold) had shared that he had never walked a real labyrith before, so today I took him to the one at the Sinsanawa retreat center. Then we headed over to Galena for lunch...since he hadn't been there either! I told him he needed to get out more! Tonight a couple of people are getting together for Birthday celebrations....mine of course is this week. Not looking forward to it, but it will be here whether I want to be or not.

Classes are continuing to go well. Lots of papers and reading to do, but I am still loving it. Trying to stay ahead with everything so I've been studying A LOT. I have scheduled my knee surgery for December 14th. So I am leaving for home, Dallas, December 9th. I sure hope I am making the right decision about getting it done. My baby sister had me all freaked out about it, but I think I need to go ahead and get it done so I can complete my CPE next summer. I hope to be in Baltimore, MD. My good friend from college, Beth, lives there and I'd be staying with her while I completed it. Her church is even going to help with some expenses, which will be nice. I am also applying to do CPE in Charlotte, NC and Dallas of course. I AM still very home sick, but it's getting easier. I am just trying to stay focussed on my purpose and what I am here to accomplish and one day become.

It is beautiful here. The foilage peak is nearing here. It's been a LONG time since I've been able to enjoy the leave changing colors, so its been nice seeing nature just change before your eyes! I LOVE it! Make me feel closer to God to just spend time in nature....not that I don't already; considering where I am! Well...speaking of where I am...we have Chapel tonight and I have to help with guitar playing, so I've gotta go!

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face. May the rain fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Peace to all.

73 more days.....

Yup...that's exactly how many days I have until my Christmas Break! I'm already counting!!! So these last few weeks haven't been that bad a I guess. I had hoped to complete this first paper due this Tuesday, but I'm not quite done with all the readings...UGH! I'm not entirely convinced I EVER will be! Classes are going really well. I had a VERY AWESOME surprise this week! My Pastor came up to see me for a few hours on Tuesday evening. He took me out for a steak dinner and beer which I loved! Then to breakfast on Wednesday morning. He even sat in on one of my classes. While it was sooo nice seeing someone from home, it made me home sick allll over again! I was just starting to feel like I was starting to adjust to being away from my small circle of friends and church family....then I felt sad all over again! But it was worth it. It was really nice spending time with Pete. Seems like we never did much of that before I left Dallas, which I regret.

So I went and had my knees evaluated here in Dubuque and the Dr. said he did not recommend me waiting to at LEAST have my left knee done as soon as possible. So now I am considering whether I should have the left knee replaced over Christmas Break/ J-Term. I'm going back and forth about the decision, as I want to make sure I have enough recuperation time to get back to school at the end of January. My sister, Myra, is convinced that if I have it done, I won't be coming back to school! I dunno...I guess all I can do is pray about it at this point.

My CPE paperwork is due soon. I have decided to apply to a couple of different places. My primary choice is going to be in Baltimore, MD. I'll be staying with a college friend of mine while I go do my CPE at John Hopkins; but their program is very tough to get in, so we'll see. I have 4 different essays to write for the application, so hopefully it'll go well.

Weather has DEFINITELY started getting cold here. I've been wearing long sleeve shirts and sweaters all week! The highs have been in the 50's and the night lows in the 30-40's ALREADY! Boy oh boy....am I in BIG trouble for the winter if I think this is cold, huh?

I have started helping at St. Peter's with some Youth/Kids programming. I'm going to be assisting with a program on Sunday evenings once a month and one on Thursday evenings once a month. St. Peter's had a HUGE service today to commemorate the kick off of their 100th year. It was a neat service. I really enjoyed it! I stuck around afterwards to interview the church's youth minister and his wife as one of my interviews for my Spiritual practices class. They are a really neat couple. I do hope to also start helping feed some of the homeless people in Dubuque at a Soup kitchen through a church downtown.

A few more weeks till my 39th birthday....NOT looking forward to that! One more year closer to 40....yikes! Gonna be a depressing day for sure!

So we have our reading days coming up at the end of this week. I REALLY wanted to go camping, but I think I'll be staying here at the dorms taking my defensive driving class that I need to get done before the end of this month. (for a ticket I got just before I left Dallas!) Haven't been taking too many excursion trips. Trying to save money and not use my car as much....but I may go somewhere over this long weekend coming up. Its gonna be boring around the dorm. Most everyone is going home for a visit. I just couldn't afford a ticket to do that. So here I will be!

Sorry this wasn't more exciting...just been busy with classes, studying and COUNTING the days to Christmas! Many blessings to all reading. Peace Out!

Whew....breathe in, breathe out...yup. Still here!

Well...that opening statement is about what it FEELS like about now. A whirlwind of papers to write, entire books to read within a few days, meetings, convocations, Student council gatherings, chapel, work study, swimming, oh and lest we forget, DON'T FORGET TO PRAY!!!! Yup, that's about what it has felt like over the last 2 weeks!!!! But in a good way...

The first week, last week was a week of contemplative, theological analysis of what I think religion is, what my personal feelings are on Christianity as a whole, learning more about Dubuque and its vast religious community and figuring out what that means to me! TRANSLATION: Lots of readings, lectures and small group discussions plus 2 papers to write so the faculty could make sure I was capable of writing a Graduate level paper! But I did learn and had an enjoyable experience.

Week 2 - This was last week. Running from class to class (not literally of course!), going from meeting to meeting to "kick off" the new year. Going over the syllabus in every class - only to come to the conclusion that I NEED TO GET BETTER about READING my syllabus' regularly! This is where all the lectures come from and homework!
My favorite class so far, definitely, History. I love learning more about, WHERE Christianity started, why it started, HOW it started. I probably ask more questions than I should but I love it. But all and all, I am starting to find that the classes are starting to run together...(except for Greek of course) so this makes it challenging to keep them all separate in my head.
I have to make decisions soon about my CPE. This is Clinical Pastoral Education. This is basically when you become a Chaplain for a few months, while learning to council and minister to people in need. This is usually done at a hospital, and you work M-F with one to two days on call and also usually lead services on site; although depending where you are, you may not do that part. We have one master website where we can CHOOSE where we'd like to go,. but obviously there are a few variables to consider. ONE - All of them have a tuition. So finding one that is reasonably priced is one concern PLUS how to pay for it! TWO - Finding one that is near where I have family or friends, so that I will have housing and meals for the summer is important; not to mention just other bare necessities. and finally THREE -Being near where I have emotional support. CPE tends to be very emotionally exhausting, so I hope to be near some family and/or friends. I actually have a few more weeks to finalize this, but they expect us to do this next summer and of course, MY biggest concern is whether or not I will have to have knee replacement surgery. I am going to see another specialist here next week to see what he says and recommends; as long as I'm not doing any permanent damage to my bones, I'll probably wait to have surgery. So I am looking at doing CPE in a few different places: North Carolina, Arizona, Florida and of course, Texas....Texas is probably where I'll be, but we'll see.
I have made the decision to "plug" into a local church, St. Peter's, but NOT do anything musical. I've gone there a few times now and I really like everything about it and I'll be starting to teach Sunday school soon. Another student is going to co-teach with me. The decision about NOT doing anything musical has been difficult, but I'm trying to stay focussed on my purpose and not get all wrapped up in music stuff; if you're a church musician, I KNOW you know what I mean by that!
I have been doing my work study since last week. I work through St. Mark's Community Center and have been mentoring to a few kids in the morning at one school and work at 3 others within the area every afternoon. I help them with reading, math, spelling, etc. Mainly, just homework stuff. My favorite is at Fulton Elementary where I read to kids every M-F mornings. It just really uplifts me and these kids really appreciate it...or at least it seem like they do! I go with another student, Alan. So we carpool together and take turns driving. It's been fun! I also work part time at State Farm still just 2 nights a week.
My weekends have continued to be busy too! Last Friday and Saturday, I was at a "Passing The Faith" conference at St. Peter's. It's about learning to minister to kids and youth and integrating that in the life of the church AND at home. I actually learned some tips on HOW I can be a better Godparent for my Goddaughter Chloe....but since she's still a toddler, kinda hard to implement....but important just the same. This weekend, they are harvesting the grapes in our vineyard, so I'll be helping with that Saturday AM.
I have been elected as one of the Co-President's of my class. So I am also now involved in Student council. Today we had a "Day of Reflection"...where we focused on some things that we can improve about our seminary and listened to concerns and prayed for each other. Last year this seminary experienced a reduction of staff by 20% and several cutbacks that affected a lot of people, so there has been a lot of restructuring going on that made a lot of people upset. That seemed to be the primary focus of today, but what I said in our closing session tonight was that, "while we all can lament and share the sorrows of last years loss, we need to have this Day of Reflection every year, but call it a Dare to Dream, where we focus on where we are going, what our calling is and remember our purpose for being here; to be servants of Christ. If we stay focused on that, we will be a better seminary that creates better church leaders for ALL our futures"....or something like that. It came it rather eloquently and one professor, who is a hard nut to crack sometimes, even commented on what I said to me after....so I guess, God is continuing to work on me!
The other BIG NEWS....is my J Term. Every January, I have to complete some rural ministry...except for the first year, we are allowed to go to our Home Congregations and "Observe and assist" our Home pastor. So I got the blessings from my church council this past Monday, so I'll be home from December 15-the end of January....which will be nice. I'm looking forward to this, since I've not really had the opportunity to observe what my Pastor does on a daily basis...oughta be interesting for sure!
I put on my first "cleric shirt" this week. I now have 3. I figured I'd need them by January and found them on sale, so I bought them. I cried for 15 minutes staring at myself in the mirror...definately still feeling unworthy or my call; But from what I hear, that NEVER changes, just gets a little easier with time. So anyways, a very moving experience, but a memory I will cherish forever.
So, sorry for the novel, but felt like I needed to get all caught up. Hope I was successful! Many blessings to all reader! May God continue to bless and keep you all....till next time. A new saying I like......Our commission, is to go a fishin'!!!!! Peace!

More pics and video...

Hello!
It's been a fun few days of more sightseeing. Yesterday went up to Peaks Point in N. East Iowa...about an hour and a half drive. The view was stunning. drove along the Mississippi River. Attached are some pics and also went back to Park Farm winery for their annual Grape Stomping. Enjoy the pics and video! Many blessings!

Pics of Galena, Park Farm Winery, Downtown Dubuque & Karaoke Ngt

GREEK IS OVER.....THANK GODNESS!!!

Well....I've gotta be honest, I REALLY am happy that Greek is over! This was the most stressful, emotionally draining class I have ever taken! I am praying that this was the worse of my seminary days, but something tells me.....I'm in for a lot more. Besides....I still have to take Hebrew!!!

The Greek final was a take home exam. We were allowed to use all our helps...the Greek Lexicon, our textbook and lots of charts with verb tenses...one was even laminated. It STILL look me about 7 hrs to complete!! It was difficult, but I did take a few breaks just to remain sane! I left the main building after turning it in and yelled in the main quad! I dunno to who....I suppose just to Marty...the statue of Martin Luther that's in the main quad....who didn't answer...Thank goodness! We had a little get together last night to celebrate....I was the only one who wore a toga! Complete with a gold halo I made with ribbon!
Don't know what I made on the final yet...but I know I passed.

My prologue starts next week. I'll have 7 classes this Fall. My registration is on Tuesday. I actually already have homework for Prologue...but it's just a long article to read...not bad. My Greek professor will actually be my Christian History professor this Fall. I'm actually looking forward to her class; although she did require 6 different books for her class, so perhaps I'll be swallowing my words mid-term!

So I have posted a lot of new photos here. One is of a few students from my Greek class. The older gentleman is Don. He is from about an hr from here. He's a former FBI agent...so he has some cool stories!
The first set of pics are from the city of Galena, IL. About 25 minutes from campus. REALLY neat little town with a lot of history. The old little cabin is the birth place of one of our former president's,....Ulysses Grant. The red brick house with Green shutters is the home he actually lived in. The little trolley car is how I took a tour of the city. The White stone church with the red door is the church Grant used to attend when he lived here. The long stairway is the 2nd longest set of stairs in the United states and the cobble stone stairway is the longest and oldest road in the United states. Then the following pictures were from last weekend and this week. All the beautiful flowers were taken at Dubuque's Arboretum and a few shots I took downtown yesterday at the Riverwalk and then the cable car pics are from the Felenon Elevator; the story is the first Mayor of Dubuque in the 1800's wanted to be able to go home for lunch/dinner at noon everyday, but the problem is he worked downtown as a banker and lived over the high ridge. But it would take him over an hour by horse and buggy so he'd only have time to eat and have to head back...not giving him enough time to do his favorite thing after lunch/dinner...NAP! So he came up with the idea of building something that could take him over the mountain. THUS...many prototypes and years later people started paying to go over the mountain using his lift and the Felenon Elevator Company was born and is still used today; Mainly just for tourist now!

So I have a few more days of break before classes start. Plan on doing a few more cool things. It's been hard having this break not being able to go home to Dallas. Chatting online with my webcam to my best friend, Julie HELPS. More students have been arriving on campus. My neighbor moved back in today. His name is Rob, married, nice guy. I also met a few people from my Synod back home....but I'm terribly home sick! So...till next time, enjoy the pics. Peace and many blessings to all reading!