Time for an update...

Hello to all my blog readers out there in blogger land. I thought I would take a bit of time at the end of this cool and rainy Thanksgiving day to update you all as to what I've been up to lately. Where to begin...

Well, it is Thanksgiving day here in the great US of A. Last night I was invited, along with seven other seminary students, to a retired professor's home for Thanksgiving supper. Great food, great friends, and great stories. Had I not had this invite I think the holiday might of completely slipped by unnoticed. Well, not completely unnoticed - Thanksgiving is such a big deal here in the US that I don't think anyone can miss the event. But I have decided to consider this extended weekend bonus reading days.

I spent almost all of today filling out an application for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which will be my fourth and final M.Div. internship. I'm applying to a hospital in Winnipeg for next summer and praying that everything falls into place. I already have an interview set up for December when I come through Winnipeg on my way to Saskatchewan which is exciting. The one catch that I need to work around is the fact that the CPE unit I'm applying for begins at the beginning of May and my courses here at the seminary aren't finished until the end of May. This could get interesting. But it is exciting to begin planning for what might come after seminary! And it's even more exciting to begin planning a move back to Canada! (bittersweet though it may be when I think about the friends I'll have to say goodbye to here)

Speaking of saying goodbye, a number of my friends/fellow students will be finishing up their studies in the next few weeks and it's really starting to hit me that they're leaving. The first one left this morning to begin his journey back to Ethiopia. Another one of my friends and his family are moving to Paraguay, and yet another family is heading back to Brazil at the end of December. My friend with whom I have taken weekly walks for the past year+ will also be finishing up her studies and moving back to B.C. I don't like goodbyes.

As far as school goes, I definitely feel as though I'm nearing the end of the semester. Most days I'm feeling pretty okay with how much time I have left in relation to how many assignments I have left to complete, but I have moments when I do feel a bit overwhelmed and wonder how it's ever going to happen. Fortunately those moments are fewer and further between. I have a fairly good handle on my senior integration paper, though I did get sort of stuck on it and am not sure how to get unstuck. These things happen.

I am also currently helping out one of my professors with two books that he is working on and it's been an interesting process to see how a book comes together. Next semester he is on sabbatical so I anticipate my work on those books is going to pick up significantly as he is able to devote more time to the writing and compiling process.

Next week I am heading out to Pennsylvania for my second installment of my Gestalt Pastoral Care training. Given that it's the end of my semester (I'm strapped for time) and December (questionable weather), I have decided to fly out East instead of driving the 11 hours that I did last time. I am anticipating seeing everyone again!

Something that I am looking forward to in the spring is writing a piece that will be presented at a conference here at AMBS in March called My soul rejoices in God my savior: Mary in Anabaptist dress. A professor here approached me about writing but I told her that I probably couldn't do it because I actually won't be in town during the conference. When she approached me a second time I agreed to write if someone else could present the paper for me. I went ahead and made arrangements to write this piece as part of an independent study that I'll be doing next semester.

So that's a bit of what I'm up to these days, off the top of my head. Hope it's given you a glimpse into my life these days. Signing off...

Peanut Buttered Popcorn

6 quarts popped corn
1 1/2 cups nuts (opt.)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Put sugar, honey, and syrup in a pot (grease pot if not using non-stick). Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. While stirring, add peanut butter. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Immediately pour over warm popcorn and nuts. Stir until well coated. Cool. Break into bite size pieces.


This is one of the treats I've been introduced to here in Indiana. I made this last night for Carrie. I think that anyone who has to take a weekend class needs at least a little bit of compensation.

Apparently it can be done...

The first half of this week was reading days. I was determined to make my reading days as productive as possible, with the goal of finishing one of my major Canon and Community papers that's due later this semester. So I packed up my stuff and relegated myself to the library. I did research on Monday afternoon and evening, researched and wrote for most of the day yesterday and finally finished my paper this afternoon. 48 hours from start to finish for one 3500 word paper. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. My paper is on the early Anabaptists' use of the Apocrypha, which, according to my research, they seem to have considered canonical and at par with the rest of Scripture. It was actually an interesting paper to write.

My next major project is going to be tackling my senior integration paper, which I'm really looking forward to. It's a 15 page paper on pretty much anything you want to write on, but it does have to integrate history, ethics, theology, Bible, ministry, etc. (hence, "integration"). Given that I'm a Pastoral Care and Counseling concentration I have to choose a caregiving theme. I've known for a while that I want to write on story but knew I had to narrow that focus. What I've decided to write about is naming as a form of storytelling and how that can be integrated (or at least paid attention to) in spiritual caregiving. I plan to draw from some of the many biblical examples of naming and renaming. Should be an interesting paper!

And then I have one more major paper for History of Christian Spirituality, a minor paper for Canon and Community, many many journal entries and reflection papers, and a Psalms notebook to complete by the end of the semester. If I type it quick enough it doesn't sound so bad.

So that's a brief update of where I'm at academics-wise. I need to get some reading done before class tomorrow. Signing off...


The 'Picturesque Drive' at AMBS
This picture is from last year. The colours weren't quite as vibrant this year.