Seminary life

May the Mind of Christ, my Savior

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:38:00 +0000

These are lyrics to a hymn that I saw posted on a friend's blog. The fifth verse spoke to me because I want nothing more than to run the race and follow hard after Jesus. I'm reading a book called the "Journey to the Mountain of God" and it is totally speaking to me these days as life and the economy are completely up in the air. These are not days to trust in common sense because as we can see, common sense only gets us in trouble, at least according to the world's definition. I want nothing more than to fully trust God to provide for my daily needs, even in these days of being unemployed. So far, He has. He's provided me with a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and funds that I have saved over the years to help me continue to pay off my seminary debt.

More to come.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

More pictures from the State Golf tourney

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Here are more pictures from the state golf tourney. Some of these pictures are not of my family, but the pictures of Maxton and Betsy are my family. Maxton finished in second place with his team while Betsy took home the individual state championship trophy.

http://mediamn.net/svmanager-flt/g21/

A State Golf Champion I'm proud of

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:49:00 +0000

http://www.twincities.com/prep/ci_12514563?nclick_check=1

It's been two and a half months

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:51:00 +0000

How did I go through the entire month of April without posting anything? I have no clue.

Anyway, I'm very heartbroken that Danny Gokey was eliminated last night. Yet I'm privileged, as a viewer of American Idol, to have walked on this journey of healing with him. He grew leaps and bounds since losing his wife and I was glad to hear him sing every week.

This year has been an interesting year, so here's the highlights of things I've been glad to be a part of while living at home.

Christmas - We were supposed to go to Bloomington on Dec. 21 for the Kelly family Christmas, but that didn't happen due to weather, so we found ourselves at home having our immediate family over instead. It was a huge blessing because we didn't know when we would be able to have our own Christmas.

Hockey - My niece's hockey team made it to the section final game. They ended up losing 4-0, but it was exciting to watch them knock off the number 1 team in the semi-finals.

Graduations - This year my oldest niece graduates from high school. I attended her awards banquet last night as she was honored for being in the top 10% of her class. She also received a few scholarships, so that was fun too. My youngest niece graduates from her first year of pre-school on May 21 and I couldn't be more excited about attending that.

Concerts - Band and choir concerts are always fun for me to attend, but never more fun than the Jefferson Connection concert on April 26. My grandparents asked if I would drive them up for that Sunday afternoon concert and I said I would. They told me Uncle Jeff was getting awarded for something, but weren't exactly clear what for. It turned out to be a whole family gathering as my folks, my sister and brother-in-law, my nieces and nephews, and my other uncles, aunts, and cousins were there to help honor Uncle Jeff on 20 years of teaching at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington.

Lessons learned - Living at home has allowed me to reflect and unwrap some of the lessons I learned while doing CPE. The big one for me was the question, "Who Am I?" Not so much who am I as a person, but who am I as a chaplain, or more importantly, who am I as a teacher. Having to figure out who we are as whatever title we hold is not something I had thought of before CPE. As that lesson unraveled for me, I started to consider going back into teaching. Also, this year I've been able to get back to my other love, music. I'm playing with an orchestra right now and playing a bit at the United Methodist Church in Albert Lea. Combine this with my CPE lessons, and everything came to a head when I sat in the auditorium at Jefferson High School. I realized that day that I was created to teach music. Now I just have to get to work and pray for a school to take me on even though I haven't taught for 3 years and have a seriously out of date credential file.

I guess that's it for now.

In mourning

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Today, I am mourning the loss of my great aunt. She was a woman who was very strong in her faith. I'm thankful that she was able to celebrate her birthday with relatives just hours before she died. Her homegoing service is Thursday morning.

interview next Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:19:00 +0000

A couple of things. First, the girls hockey team lost in their section final to Red Wing by a score of 4-0. No state tournament. Second, I have an interview with a church in Forest Lake, MN next Tuesday. They are looking for a Director of Christian Education. If this works out the way I hope it does, I might be back to taking a class a week at seminary, but who knows.

Is it possible?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:53:00 +0000

I know I haven't blogged in a ridiculously long time, but I'm very excited right now. The Albert Lea girls hockey team will be playing on Saturday afternoon against Red Wing for the section 1A championship and a spot in the state tournament. Why is this exciting news? Well, I have a niece who is a senior on the team.

GO TIGERS!!!!

CPE is coming back to bite me

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Sorry for those of you non-seminarians out there, but this post is mainly for my fellow seminarians who have been through CPE or at least know what CPE is. Let's just repeat my title line. It's coming back to bite me. One of the things I struggled with during CPE was keeping personal and professional separate while at the same time understanding how they can unite as well. It's something I still struggle with to this day. For those of you who want to hear the story which awakened this in me, please let me know and I will gladly send off an email to you.

As for everyone else, my MN teaching license is renewed and I have found an opening in Waseca for a junior high band director. I'm really excited to apply and hopefully interview for this position. I'll be close enough to Albert Lea that I can still go to church there and drive down for concerts and sporting events if possible. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

I hope you all have a

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:51:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! I will be spending the day in Eagan with my parents and my mom's brother and his wife and whomever of my three cousins will be there. I just finished a bible study this past Monday at one of the churches I attend here in Albert Lea. It was definitely an awesome opportunity to take stock of my relationship with Christ and set some goals for the future as I continue to walk with Christ. Hopefully I'll post more about that study later, but until then, I'm praying that you all have reasons to be grateful this year.

A moment for the history books

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:31:00 +0000

Many of you probably watched the election returns come in last night. I still don't understand how it is a network can call a state for a candidate when no results have even been reported is beyond me. How do those exit polls work anyway?

Some people may say that John McCain lost last night, but this morning on The View, I watched 5 ladies (2 African-American, 3 Caucasian and only 1 of them is conservative) talk about Barack Obama winning the election last night. Barbara Walters immediately checked in with Elisabeth Hasselbeck to see how she was doing. Hasselbeck said she watched Barack Obama's speech with her daughter. Hasselbeck explained that Barack Obama is the next president of the US. Her daughter then asked who lost. Hasselbeck told her daugher that nobody lost the election this year. Everybody won.

Whether we agree with Obama or not, we all know that 45 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" Speech. Last night, any limits that African Americans had on their dreams were dropped from the table. As the ladies on The View said this morning, and as Martin Luther King Jr. said 45 years ago, I believe America did make a judgment based on the content of someone's character and not on the color of their skin.

Now if only we could spread those rights to Native Americans, such as those living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

No title

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:29:00 +0000

I don't usually like to share with people outside of my parents who I intend on voting for, but this time, I want to share with the readers of this blog why I am deciding to cast my vote for Barack Obama in this election. It's a lengthy story, so it might actually come in the form of a couple of separate blogs.

During the primaries, I actually casted my support behind Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. When he ended up not getting the nomination, it put me back at square one where I had to beginning learning about the candidates who did get the nominations of their respective parties. Normally, I don't even know which way I'm leaning as I watch the conventions and the debates, and even the campaign stops that are televised on CNN and MSNBC. This year has been a little bit different for me however. Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech. He said we may not agree on abortion, but we can at least agree to work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. He said we may not agree on same-sex marriages, but at least we can agree that gays and lesbians should be allowed to visit their partners in hospitals and have some of the same societal liberties the rest of us have. In that moment, I saw him reaching out to conservative evangelicals like me. It also got me thinking about what I had learned about my own prejudices regarding homosexuality while in seminary. I can't force my viewpoints onto anybody, but can only pray for God to change their hearts and minds. My viewpoints come from my relationship with Christ and the change He has brought about in my life. I also started to think about something else I learned at seminary. Lutherans do quite the job of serving their neighbor and always watching out for those who have less than they do. While numbers throughout the denomination are in decline, their giving to organizations that deal with hunger and homelessness and the like has actually gone up and is at the top compared to other Christian denominations (at least as far as what I heard from professors at seminary). This led me to start thinking not only about abortion and homosexuality, but also about my parents who did everything they could to pay for my bachelor's degree, the people across the nation who are losing their jobs and having a hard time making ends meet. I found myself asking which candidate would best serve my neighbor. Needless to say, as this campaign season has progressed, I have remained on that hook and the line has slowly been reeling in.

To continue with the fishing metaphor (hook, line, sinker), I was still looking for that sinker. If Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech, and slowly began reeling me in during the campaign season, there had to be a sinker somewhere. It happened on Wednesday evening. I got home from church that evening. I was able to see the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute ad. The real-life stories of the struggles people are facing almost drew me to tears. By the end, I really seriously almost cried. It happened when Obama said that he learns everyday that he's not perfect. He said he will never be a perfect president. Yet he said he would listen to us when we disagree and that he would open the doors of government so that people could be involved in their own democracy again. (I don't even know what that looks like). That was my sinker. Maybe it is all rhetoric, maybe it isn't, but for me, this election is not about me. It's about my neighbor.

I'm BK (just for you, boB). I'm a conservative evangelical Christian, and I approved this message.

another job

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:14:00 +0000

I found another job. I will be an accompanist for the contemporary worship team at United Methodist Church in Albert Lea. Should be fun.

Christian first, American second, Republican, Democrat or Independent third

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Long title, but as this political season is now in the last month, I have some comments about what I've been reading and hearing. First off, I think it's high time that I officially refer to myself as an Independent. Yes, I am conservative. Yes, I am an Evangelical Christian, but that does not mean I have to always vote for the Republican ticket. This year I am more educated about what is going on around me and have come to the conclusion that if I vote for the Republican ticket, I would be voting for myself instead of people like my parents who have done everything they can to make sure their children and grandchildren have more. I am frustrated with my fellow evangelicals who believe that abortion is the only issue they should be voting for in this election. It seems like it's the only issue in every election. Yes, I do believe life begins at conception, but I also believe that it's the church's responsibility to pray for people they meet who are thinking about having an abortion. Body of Christ, it is our responsibility to work to make the change, not the government's. When I think about people in this world who consider having an abortion, I wonder if they believe God's Word, where we read that God formed us in our mother's womb and knows the number of the hairs on our head. I am worried that many of us within the Body of Christ want to force our conservative convictions onto the rest of society. I don't believe that's the right thing to do. Until God changes the hearts of those who wish to have abortions, all I can do is love them just as they are and pray that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be at work in their hearts to draw them to Himself.

Just my thoughts and my thoughts alone. These are not the thoughts of any other person that I am aware of.

I found a job, and 9/11

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:00:00 +0000

As of last Friday, I have a part-time job with our local YMCA in Albert Lea as a School's Out Site Coordinator at one of our elementary schools. It's something I'm very excited about as it will allow me to teach but not have to grade anybody based on what they're learning. I'm continuing to look for something else to do during the days, so keep praying that God will open doors for a job where I can work during the days but leave on snow days to go teach kids after school.

Last week, I meant to post my memories of 9/11. A fellow blogger and college friend of mine posted about how she heard about the events of that horrific day and I wanted to post about mine. I was a junior in college and I was actually at home that day. I friend of mine had died of cancer just 5 days earlier so I was at home for her funeral. My friend Laura showed up and told me about what had just happened. I didn't really think anything of it and we went to breakfast and then to the funeral. I got back to my parents' house at 2:30 and left to head back to Brookings, SD. When I drove into Brookings, I saw major long lines at gas stations and I was like, "What on earth is going on?" I tried to call my dad, but couldn't get through on my cell phone. I finally did, and he told me to put gas in my car before it went up to $4 a gallon. (I didn't put gas in my car until November and it never got that high.) I got back to the dorm after a bible study and was sitting in a neighbor's room. A bunch of us sat in front of the TV watching what had happened earlier that day. Needless to say, my mind was so not in tuned to anything that happened in NYC. I was still remembering a friend and former schoolmate and the huge blessing she was that previous summer.

This year, on 9/11/08, I was awaken to a phone call from somebody who had the wrong phone number. MSNBC replayed the Today Show's coverage of those events to the exact minute. I watched for more than 2 hours. I have nothing more to say.

Still in the quest for a job

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:31:00 +0000

I am still in the quest for a job. I know I just restated my subject line. I'm sorry. I'm allowing myself some extra time for discernment regarding my call to ministry. Now that CPE is over, I can put more of my energy into my job search. In the meantime, I can also work on going through all of my stuff that I've collected from my years of school and teaching and throw away the things I don't need. I've already started to do that. Let me just say that my bedroom is more of a mess right now than it ever has been. My closet is in the process of being gutted so it can be totally cleaned. We shall see how long this process takes. While I am doing all of this, I am also enjoying watching my fellow Americans compete in the Olympics. As much as I watch them compete, I enjoy hearing those human interest stories more than anything. Especially the man from Togo who won a bronze medal in whitewater kayaking. Very cool. The comeback by the Americans in the 400 freestyle relay was amazing. Have a great day! I hope to write again soon.

It's been a month

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:35:00 +0000

Yes, it's been a month since the last post, but once CPE is done, I will have more time to actually think about doing the things I haven't been so good about doing this summer, like blogging. I'm sure that next Friday I will want nothing more than to spend oodles of time in the public library in Albert Lea and just type away. I cannot tell you how much I've learned this summer, but let me just say that it's been good, rewarding, but I'm ready to be done and move onto the next chapter of my life. What that is, we'll have to wait and see.

Taking care of myself

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Sometimes I find myself forgetting some important things. In my wanting to be there for other people, I forget that sometimes other people want to be there for me. I'm only beginning to learn that lesson. I'm beginning to learn that in its own weird way, allowing people to get to know me is a way for me to take care of myself (if that makes any sense). All I need to do is apply this lesson to my life. Knowing that I have a group of people who can and will hold me accountable in this brings some comfort to my putting this lesson to use.

10 days . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:37:00 +0000

. . . since the last post. I know I said I would let you all know how CPE was going, but I've been bad about blogging about my CPE journey. Let me just say it's going good, I'm enjoying it more and more everyday, but it is also really exhausting that when I get home, I don't feel like getting on a computer. I feel like going to bed. I'm on call on Thursday night this week, so hopefully this weekend I will seriously write about some of what I'm learning this summer.

God at work

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Sorry for the delay. CPE this week has stood for "Crucified Practically Everyday." It is pretty painful, especially when presenting your own goals. (More about that when I can see the light of day.) A lot has happened this week. Goal presentations, weekly reports, and conversations with patients to name a few. But there's definitely something of which I'm coming to a deeper understanding. As our entire CPE group presented our goals for the summer, I was struck by the fact that personally, this summer is about becoming more comfortable with who we are, with who we know ourselves to be. I have a small problem with that. If God is continually transforming us into the likeness of His Son, then are we ever comfortable with who we are?

CPE: Days 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Day 2 (May 28):
Day 2 of CPE began with a 3 hour orientation, most of which consisted of stuff we chaplain interns had already heard and discovered on our first day there. As I sat there, I thought even more in depth about how we are all absolutely scared about whether or not we will know who to call in desperate times of need when dealing with patients. It dawned on me that this is not something I am just supposed to push my way through because it's a requirement (though it's not anymore and I'll explain why later, hopefully tomorrow). It's something I'm supposed to experience. It also dawned on me how much I'm going to hate being professional. I feel like who I am as a person and who I am as a professional are two completely different identities. I don't even like the thought of integrating them. Why don't I? Because I don't consider myself a professional person. Hopefully this doesn't become a problem of mine for the entire summer. P.S. Happy Birthday, Jayna!

Day 3 (May 29):
I have a funny feeling I missed the surprise for today. Why? Well, I got a phone call from the pastor at Atonement Lutheran Church in Jamestown, ND at 11:39 this morning. Unfortunately, I was eating lunch so I could attend something called Spiritual Ground Round (I think that's right). This is something that happens once a month. Today we listened to the music group SeVy. (I'll post a link to their website tomorrow. I strongly encourage you to check it out. They're due to release a CD this coming November.) This afternoon, I also got to make my first set of rounds on my assigned floor for the summer. I'm in the geriatrics unit. I had the opportunity to visit with 3 people while on the floor. Everybody else was elsewhere and half of the patients on the list were getting discharged today.
Back to the Jamestown, ND thing. I didn't get the message until about 7p.m. when I turned my phone on. The pastor will definitely be hearing from me tomorrow. It's 50/50 whether or not he is calling to offer me the position. I'm nervously excited right now because I walked out of the interview not knowing one way or another whether or not it was God's perfect fit for me at this point in time.

CPE: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:58:00 +0000

Today was my first day of CPE, and I realized that it's exactly where God wants me this summer. I am hoping to blog about my experiences (the non-confidential ones, that is) on a daily basis. My goal is to wake up every morning and ask God to surprise me during each day of my chaplain internship this summer. Feel free to join me on the ride. For those of you who have had CPE before, you can also feel free to join me on the ride.

It's been more than a week

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:24:00 +0000

It's been more than a week since the last blog. I don't really have time to write anything right now except to say that my interview in Jamestown, ND was great! I discovered that one of my former pastors from home was the pastor at Atonement before moving to Albert Lea to become a pastor at my home church. It was one of those things that shocked me, but then made wonder even more what on earth God is up to. I will update more later.

Another door shut

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Today, God confirmed that He shut the door for Sioux City, IA.

Two doors are left open: Jamestown, ND, and the back door option. I'm trusting that God will reveal to me which door I need to walk through in His perfect timing.

Sleep #2

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:06:00 +0000

For two nights in a row now, I've been able to sleep without getting up in the middle of the night praying about where God is leading me next year. Which makes me wonder even more about the back door option.

As far as school goes, I officially have one final left and three days to get ready to move back home for the summer. I'm doing hospital chaplaincy at Rochester Mayo and am looking forward to a different chapter for a while.

My apologies for these lackluster posts, but I've got absolutely nothing profound to say, which is probably alright. On that note, I pray that you are all having a wonderful May and may God continue to bless this season of spring.

Pray for the people of China and Myanmar, and our weather

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Global warming is having a crazy effect on places like China, Myanmar and the southern portion of the US. Please keep all those people in your prayers.