Ephphatha

The assignments came in and all the seniors took the march to the line where they were being handed out. It was a unique situation-kind of weird actually. After I got my envelope, I took it over to where my wife was and we opened it. The number was 6- region 6 which was our top choice so we are very satisified. On Saturday I will find out which Synod. So as it stands today we could be living in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, or Kentucky. I can't wait until Saturday :-).

While I was fairly excited, several of my friends were not. I was deeply saddened at the sight of one my my best friends opening his envelope and getting assigned to a place that was completely off of his radar. Yet, somewhere, somehow, I know God will work through that as well. The journey has just begun, and God is in control. Thank goodness.

Well, the day has finally arrived where I, along with my classmates, will find out to which region of the country we are being sent. Pretty exciting stuff- and to be honest I can't wait until it is over. I think I am almost as excited to see where my colleagues end up as I am about myself. Two and a half hours from now the wait will be over. yippee!

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about Postmodernism-since three of my classes this semester are focussing on that subject. And today was thinking about what it means for someone today to be a "prophet" in a "postmodern world". For instance, I work at a bar while attending seminary and all of the people who I work with know that I am a pastor-to-be. At some level I am called to be a prophet to them as they struggle with life as we know it. Yet, what is the message that the unchurched or the spiritual-but-not-Christian long to hear? I hope this becomes a little more clear to me this year as I work through it so that I can better serve those I encounter. Any thoughts? Please respond!

and to dust you shall return.

Yesterday, being Ash Wednesday was a day I spent a lot of time thinking about death and my own mortality. It began early in the morning when I attended an Imposition of Ashes service and was marked with a cross of ashes on my forehead and told, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Later in the morning I attended chapel and the sermon focussed on facing our mortality with a smile and not fearing what is to come. The words of the preacher were very powerful as she proclaimed the joy of knowing the promises of Jesus Christ. It is upon these promises and this Gospel truth that we can stand as we move towards our inevitable death. That was good news, but she did force one to think about how we live our our lives especially during these 40 days of Lent.

The fun of mortality and death did not stop at chapel. Late last night at my men's Bible Study at our favorite pub we picked up on the theme of death as well as the promises of God. We focussed on Psalm 23 and discussed our own personal valleys while also investigating what we cling to as the LORD's "rod and staff". We also delved into how we can preach Gospel truth to someone who has lost a loved one either tragically or suddenly. The conversation was wonderful and left me longing for more discussion about the prophetic voice of the Gospel in the times of deep suffering.

So here I am today, a little sleep deprived still wondering how do we do this proclaiming stuff in the midst of suffering world. Don't get me wrong, I believe it with my whole heart (the promises) but I realize many struggle to understand the truth- and they have every right to. As I read my elert from the NY Times this morning I was reminded once again of the hostility that exists in our world- North Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons and Rejects Talks- NY Times Article- . Wow- what a frightening world we indeed live in. Yet, as we go through our days we must cling to the promise of Psalm 23- We shall fear nothing, and we can say that because of the crucicifed and risen Christ. Thanks be to God.

What a beautiful day today. I walked to work this morning at 7:20 and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. I love the warmth, but am kind of sad because all of the ice sculptures at the Winter Carnival fell over so we can't go and see them this weekend. Oh well, bring on spring. It's been a pretty uneventful week thus far outside of L (my son) getting sick. I have tried to not think too much this week as classes start again next week.


I had a dream last night I was on Survivor- I hope it comes true.

What do we do when we get to the point of our life where we have no motivation for what we are currently doing? Any ideas? I am so excited about the future, as in this summer and the beginning of a new career. But now I am so sick of being in school, and so sick of doing the little jobs I have. Help! Okay enough venting, I must stop before I get depressed or something.

Life is indeed full of blessings- Thank God!