Back to School

4 years ago, I waved goodbye to my little house in Beverly, Massachusetts and my goal of earning my Master's of Arts in Counseling. I wasn't ever entirely sure that being a professional counselor was the desired outcome of my time in seminary, but it had always been something I had thought I might want to pursue.

So, I tried it out. For a semester. And, I loved it. I loved learning about Jesus and Scripture and about living out the gospel in a way that could truly help others. I loved being surrounded by other people who were excited to learn and grow in the same way that I was. I loved being a setting where I could just soak up all of this knowledge without having to pour it all out immediately. It was this necessary reprieve from full-time ministry and this necessary season of life that I really believe was a gift from the Lord.

And then I was given the opportunity-of-a-lifetime to come to Glorieta, New Mexico and help bring the mission of inspiring Christ-like change to a different part of the country.

I do miss these views...

In the process of deciding what my fate ought to be, I knew school would "always be there".  I could continue my education at some point down the road-  it didn't seem crucial to continue on in the fall of 2013. So I left. I moved to New Mexico 4 years ago and began a life in the mountains, far far away from my little place right near Dane Street Beach. A view of the ocean for a view of mountains. I couldn't complain about either.

Over the past four years, I've often thought that I could have stayed in school and it could have been really good. Granted, in the past four years, I've also gotten married, changed jobs and continually learned a ton about ministry and leadership and doing hard things. It's pretty interesting to consider all the "What Ifs..."
I don't stay there very long though. Because this is where I am. And life is good.

Not too long ago (maybe like 6 weeks), I decided to consider what it might look like to start school back up again. In a desire to develop more fully in my current job responsibilities and as a follower of Christ, I figured this could be a way to really push me deeper into a knowledge of Scripture and the Lord. I contacted the seminary I had been enrolled in, began looking at online degree programs, tried to figure out what from my one semester would transfer over, and what it would take to reapply.

Crazily enough... everything was really easy.
I re-enrolled to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-- their Charlotte campus (because it enabled me to do more distance learning while still taking classes at any of their four campuses). I got registered for a few courses, bought some books, and have officially begun to chip away at a Master's degree again (while still working, of course).

My current plan is to get my degree in Christian Ministries and I'm hoping that I'll be able to take quite a few Spiritual Formation courses. I'm also hoping that as I slowly do this, more online classes within Spiritual Formation will become available. I had already decided, when I left seminary, that if I had stayed I would have switched my degree from counseling to something else. Spiritual Formation was something that I was learning more about and it has seemed to match my passions and giftings more (think discipleship and development).

I'm enrolled in 3 courses, getting 7 credit hours (Lord willing) and figuring out how to reprioritize my life to include a lot more reading and writing. I'll be flying to Charlotte, NC in early November to do "residency" classes for a week (which basically means being in class all day, every day). We have video lectures, forums to post in, videos to post, papers to write, and 1000 books to read (slight exaggeration...).

It has been two weeks- and I already love it.
I love it because what I'm absorbing is applicable and challenging to my life and job. I love it because I'm being asked to read Scripture. I love it because I'm getting to learn more about God and more about who He is calling me to be in this season. I love that so much of my time is spent on things of the Lord, that I can't help but think about Him more and (hopefully) live from that more. Data in, data out. I love that my leadership class gives me practical tools that I can apply to leadership in my job without having to wait. I'm almost starting to think that everyone in full-time ministry should take a class at a seminary! Being fed while pouring out. Having to be disciplined, diligent, focused.

It's good.
And so if you've asked me lately what's been going on, or how you can be praying for me- this has been my answer. Learning how to balance all of the things and also do them well. There's obviously still the exciting newness, but if you want to pray for me- pray that the newness doesn't wear off. Pray that I would be eager to learn, eager to grow, eager to be transformed and refined through my studies. Pray that my goal wouldn't be good grades or worldly achievement- but that it would be knowing Christ more fully and living out of that more steadfastly.

And that's the latest in my world, friends!