My 27th year

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. I turned 27 on the 27th, so I expect that there are going to be some great things in store for me this year!

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26 was a pretty good year, and it brought along some new experiences, such as:

• I tried real sushi... and I LOVE it! In fact, I would eat it once a week if I could!
• We didn't move! It was the first year since I was 18 that I didn't have to pack up my stuff and change living locations.
• I presented at my first national professional conference. I should find out in the next few weeks if I will have the opportunity to do that again this year.
• I joined a gym. We have had a couple of spurts of consistent attendance, but I hope to get back in the pattern (and maintain that pattern) this year.
• I attended a ceremony to spread the ashes of my grandfather. I am still blessed to have both of my grandmothers still living.
• I won an award from my office for being an excellent advisor. I was nominated by students and chosen by some of my coworkers and other campus faculty and staff. Because of that nomination, I was nominated for a national advising award this year, and I should find out in the next month whether I won that or not.
• I helped host my first bridal shower and bachelorette party. Both were really fun and really fit the personality of each of the brides.

A couple of the new experiences that I know age 27 will bring are:

• Getting my first professional massage! It's scheduled for Saturday and I can't wait!
• Standing as part of the bridal party for 3 of my best friends. Before this year, I've only ever been in my own wedding!
• Moving into a new place...although we're not sure yet where that is going to be...

Some of the new experiences I hope age 27 will bring are:

• Presenting at least one session at the national conference in October
• Traveling to Colorado for the first time (it's where the national conference is hosted this year)
• Running a 5k (if I can get over the terrible shin splints I get when running)

We'll see where life leads me this year!

"And many more!"

Is it really almost Easter already?

First of all, thanks for the birthday wishes this past week. I can now officially rent a car, so I guess that's pretty exciting. Aside from a cold and some random allergic reaction, it was a low-key birthday, but Jared is the best husband. He got me a new mp3 player with video and FM radio capabilities to replace my iPod mini that died last year. Additionally, he made me dinner and got me cake and ice cream. I really can't complain at all!

Now on to the real subject: Easter, but more broadly, church.

Before we moved, we had been pretty involved at LUMC, mostly because we were leading the WOW service on Wednesday nights. We also kept up our ties at ELC since we had some great friends there. I don't think that either of us really felt like our spiritual needs were being completely fed at either place, but the church families that we developed were great.

Since we moved, we have been church shopping on and off now for about 7 months. It has been a lot harder since Jared had to work on Sunday mornings for quite a few months, and I really would prefer to try to find a church home with him. We have gone to small churches and huge churches, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentacostal, non-denominational, traditional worship, contemporary worship, and some blended services. Some of the churches have been really welcoming, others we have sat in the pews without anyone even saying hello. All in all, it has been a frustrating process that we're still not through with yet because we haven't completely found a place to settle.

I would be so happy if I could find a place like theWELL, but I know that probably doesn't really exist around here. I like hymns and all, but I find a more personal connection with contemporary worship; there are not a lot of mainstream denominational churches around here that do contemporary worship. I would like to find a church family with a thriving younger adult/college & career group for us to get involved in; for most of my life, many of my best friends have been people I have met through church, and I really would like to meet some more people in the area that we can be friends with as a couple. I really enjoyed being involved as part of the advisory team for the high school youth when Jared was youth director and would love to find that opportunity again. I have enjoyed helping out with Vacation Bible School in the past and wouldn't mind having that opportunity again. I know that a lot of those types of opportunities are probably available if we can find a place that we want to keep attending.

In the past, so much of my calendar awareness was based on the Church calendar: Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, etc. Since we have not fallen into a church pattern, my calendar now seems to be dictated by the academic calendar (registration time, summer orientation, beginning of the semester, etc); perhaps part of that has to do with the fact that I am just experiencing the academic year at my new job for the first time and am still trying to get a feel for the rhythm.

I definitely feel like I am in a dry spell spiritually. I loaded up my new mp3 player with a lot of Christian music, which has been a nice centering agent to my mornings and afternoons, but I need more. I would like to get involved in a small group or Bible study, and to be challenged by the weekly message during the church service. Perhaps during the next few months as we continue to settle in to our new lives in NC that can happen... I hope so anyway.