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Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
25 things about me
I have been tagged enough by people on Facebook to do this, so I guess I finally will. (Plus it's not like I've been updating here on a regular basis anyway, so I may as well write something!)
1) I really like to be in control of myself. This is partly why I've never been drunk, hate roller coasters, and don't enjoy gambling.
2) I really would like to get another dog. Not a "matchy-matchy" dog, but one that pairs well with Emma.
3) I want to have kids. 2 or 4 probably, not 3 (so there isn't a middle child) unless we had twins.
4) I am trying not to use a lot of my vacation and sick days so I can build up time for maternity leave, even though we aren't planning to have kids for at least a few more years.
5) I cannot wait to have a house of our own. I would really like to paint walls and have built-in bookshelves.
6) While I cannot wait to have a house, I pretty much hate housework. I try to blame our dog for our house being messy, but it really is mostly my fault.
7) A boy in my 5th grade class called me "Sarah the Sumo" almost every day when I would walk home. I still think about that when I'm having a "fat" day.
8) There are very few things that I miss about being in Ohio. I thought moving away from home would be harder than this.
9) At the same time, I would love to get a job at one of several colleges or universities in Ohio later in my career.
10) I have mixed feelings about going back to get my PhD. Some days I think I would love to get back in the classroom learning and have the option of teaching in a grad prep program. Other days I don't really want to have a job that would require me to have a PhD.
11) I go to bed at or before 10:00 p.m. almost every night. I have a really hard time staying up past then.
12) Since we moved, I have been asked on at least 5 occassions if I am more than 21 years old. Apparently I look quite a few years younger than the 25 that I will be turning at the end of March.
13) My summer jobs in Gahanna gave me a love of horticulture. I sometimes find myself missing being able to landscape and prune shrubs/bushes/trees and getting my hands really dirty.
14) I feel like a black sheep in my husband's family because very few of them have even been to college and I have a Master's degree. And I made Jared move out of Ohio.
15) I don't really think that my family understands what I do.
16) My faith was really strong when I was in college because I was surrounded by other people who had really strong faith. Now that I haven't been actively involved in a church for quite a while and have been out of a community of faith, I feel like I am back at square one.
17) I really miss singing in a choir.
18) I enjoy riding the bus to work every day. It is so nice to not have to worry about driving, parking, or gas prices.
19) I have pretty much completely separated myself from who I was in high school. This matter is exhibited by the fact that I only invited two friends from high school to my wedding.
20) I used to write poetry on a pretty regular basis. I had a couple of my poems published in the Ashland Poetry Press yearly magazine.
21) I hate running, but would really like to finish a 5K before I turn 30.
22) I wish my brother and I were a lot closer than we are. When we were in high school we were pretty close. I feel a little guilty for being at college when he was dealing with some tough issues.
23) I think about my friends and family a lot more often than I actually pick up the phone or a pen to let them know I was thinking about them.
24) I am glad that I work in a place with quite a few people my age and that we are starting to hang out a bit outside of work. I feel bad that Jared doesn't have any real friends down here.
25) I am the luckiest girl in the world because Jared is the best husband I could have ever prayed for. He cooks, cleans, lets me sleep in, makes me laugh all the time, and moved to NC for me. I probably don't tell him enough that I love him, but I hope he knows it.
1) I really like to be in control of myself. This is partly why I've never been drunk, hate roller coasters, and don't enjoy gambling.
2) I really would like to get another dog. Not a "matchy-matchy" dog, but one that pairs well with Emma.
3) I want to have kids. 2 or 4 probably, not 3 (so there isn't a middle child) unless we had twins.
4) I am trying not to use a lot of my vacation and sick days so I can build up time for maternity leave, even though we aren't planning to have kids for at least a few more years.
5) I cannot wait to have a house of our own. I would really like to paint walls and have built-in bookshelves.
6) While I cannot wait to have a house, I pretty much hate housework. I try to blame our dog for our house being messy, but it really is mostly my fault.
7) A boy in my 5th grade class called me "Sarah the Sumo" almost every day when I would walk home. I still think about that when I'm having a "fat" day.
8) There are very few things that I miss about being in Ohio. I thought moving away from home would be harder than this.
9) At the same time, I would love to get a job at one of several colleges or universities in Ohio later in my career.
10) I have mixed feelings about going back to get my PhD. Some days I think I would love to get back in the classroom learning and have the option of teaching in a grad prep program. Other days I don't really want to have a job that would require me to have a PhD.
11) I go to bed at or before 10:00 p.m. almost every night. I have a really hard time staying up past then.
12) Since we moved, I have been asked on at least 5 occassions if I am more than 21 years old. Apparently I look quite a few years younger than the 25 that I will be turning at the end of March.
13) My summer jobs in Gahanna gave me a love of horticulture. I sometimes find myself missing being able to landscape and prune shrubs/bushes/trees and getting my hands really dirty.
14) I feel like a black sheep in my husband's family because very few of them have even been to college and I have a Master's degree. And I made Jared move out of Ohio.
15) I don't really think that my family understands what I do.
16) My faith was really strong when I was in college because I was surrounded by other people who had really strong faith. Now that I haven't been actively involved in a church for quite a while and have been out of a community of faith, I feel like I am back at square one.
17) I really miss singing in a choir.
18) I enjoy riding the bus to work every day. It is so nice to not have to worry about driving, parking, or gas prices.
19) I have pretty much completely separated myself from who I was in high school. This matter is exhibited by the fact that I only invited two friends from high school to my wedding.
20) I used to write poetry on a pretty regular basis. I had a couple of my poems published in the Ashland Poetry Press yearly magazine.
21) I hate running, but would really like to finish a 5K before I turn 30.
22) I wish my brother and I were a lot closer than we are. When we were in high school we were pretty close. I feel a little guilty for being at college when he was dealing with some tough issues.
23) I think about my friends and family a lot more often than I actually pick up the phone or a pen to let them know I was thinking about them.
24) I am glad that I work in a place with quite a few people my age and that we are starting to hang out a bit outside of work. I feel bad that Jared doesn't have any real friends down here.
25) I am the luckiest girl in the world because Jared is the best husband I could have ever prayed for. He cooks, cleans, lets me sleep in, makes me laugh all the time, and moved to NC for me. I probably don't tell him enough that I love him, but I hope he knows it.
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