Long Day

Long Day.  Lot's of Pastoral Care. Learned so so so so much today. Wish I could say more.  For now, I'm exhausted and am going to bed.

Let me close by saying that my life is good, my life is a blessing.  Life in general (as a concept for all people, not simply for me) is often ugly and messy and downright shitty, and yet, at other times, life is beautiful and majestic.

Good Night.

God, Grace, and Second Chances

          In the last weeks, amidst midterm examinations, papers and projects, and community commitments, I've taken up writing with a penpal. But unlike what you are likely conjuring in your mind, I'm not writing to a child in a war-torn country, nor am I writing to an elderly widower seeking companionship.  My penpal lives in prison. 
          Joseph* is someone from a past life of mine, someone I hadn't communicated with in over a decade. I remember him as being a somewhat quiet but kind young man, which is why his arrest was surprising to me. I will not go into details regarding why Joseph is in prison, but I will share with you what an inspiration he is to me.  Joseph is serving a twenty-five year sentence, by the time he is eligible for parole he will be at best fifty years old.  He has a child whom he adores.  Joseph offers no excuses for the events in his life which brought him to where he is today; in fact, as he spelled out to me in a letter the events that precipitated his arrest, he made it very clear that he had made some mistakes. Because some of the problems contributing to his arrest are that both he and his wife were in the throes of addiction, I have a hard time seeing Joseph as a bad person.  I'm in no way excusing his actions or suggesting that he shouldn't be in prison for his crime, but I am sympathetic to the problems which led him to where he is today.
          Joseph is not allowing his time in prison to simply waste away; and this is why he is an inspiration to me.  Through various programs in the prison, Joseph has earned his G.E.D., headed an organization which delivered clothing to a local church for homeless Veterans and their families during Christmas time, completed a food safety program, completed a six-month substance abuse program, taken multiple violence prevention programs, and is heading a new organization of art therapy for other incarcerated individuals in the hopes that they might be able to stay out of trouble.  He works out regularly and eats healthy meals which he prepares for himself, writes poetry, draws in charcoal and paints in watercolor, reads, and is preparing for a college entry exam.  

         Luke 13:6-9 reads, 

          Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” 

A vineyard owner wants to cut down a fig tree that isn’t producing fruit and hasn’t in three years.  It’s had three opportunities, and three times it has failed.  The gardener asks for one more year, one more opportunity to help the tree flourish and bear its fruit.  He’ll give it Miracle Grow and special soil.  If it still doesn’t bear fruit, only then can it be cut down. God is that gardener, rooting for us, tending over us, carefully cultivating us.  Even when we hit our low points, when we fall short of the task, God doesn't give up on us.  When we’re down and out, God helps pull us up, dust us off, and walks hand in hand with us to the finish line.

          There are some who likely believe that Joseph deserved to be cut down and disregarded, forever a flame snuffed out. Some would say that Joseph's actions exclude him from the love and grace of God. Some might suggest that God has abandoned Joseph as further punishment for his crimes.  I think they're all wrong.  I believe so firmly that God is love and grace and forgiveness that I cannot in any way conjure an instance in which God would abandon her own children.  I can't.  And that includes Joseph as well.  Despite what actions Joseph took, he is still very much a beloved child of God.

          Joseph spent a time in his life under producing, it landed him in prison; and  it was there that someone served as miracle grow and helped Joseph flourish.  Once he found a solid root base in good soil, he was able to thrive and change his life.  Joseph is working his way through a second chance, a chance given by God who loves.  Rather than spending his days in a problematic manner, he is instead working to make a better life for himself so that, hopefully one day upon his release, he will continue the good work he has been able to accomplish. 

          I find Joseph inspiring because he could be downright miserable.  He sees his child infrequently, he will forever be marked as a felon for the crime he committed, and he will forever live with the guilt of his actions.  In his own words, "I can't believe what I did." Yet although it was his own actions which put him in the situation that he is in, he continues to find ways to occupy his time healthily.  Although I'm sure prison is at times unbearable, Joseph spent approximately 70% of his letter talking about his deep love for his child and the remaining 30% about the wonderful and awe-inspiring things he is doing.  His outlook is truly one of positivity.  I pray that Joseph continues to thrive in his environment, that his child knows Joseph's deep love, and that others can see the grace of God around them. 

          Joseph has helped to show me that no one is ever too far gone, that they don't deserve our best efforts.  I have to say, I wonder if we spent more time looking out for each other and ensuring we all had enough, some things in Joseph's life may have turned out vastly different. I wonder. and I pray.

*Name changed to protect privacy.  If you happen to connect the pieces and know who Joseph is, please respect his privacy by not divulging such information in any way.

Rev. Frank Schaefer, United Methodist Clergy and LGBTQ Advocate, visits the School of the Prophets

Today*, the Rev. Frank Schaefer visited Boston University School of Theology.  For those unfamiliar with Rev. Schaefer's story, this link offers a quick timeline.  In short, Rev. Schaefer officiated the marriage of his son to another man in 2007 in the state of Massachusetts, where the union was legal.  In 2013, charges were brought up against Rev. Schaefer as his actions had violated a law in the United Methodist Book of Discipline which states that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, a law which Schaefer, as a United Methodist Clergy, was bound to uphold.  A trial ensued throughout much of 2013 which resulted in Rev. Schaefer's initial loss of credentials and then ultimate reinstatement.  However, his journey is not over as a Judiciary Appeal requires that he stand trial yet again in late October of 2014.

Rev. Schaefer has a presence about him that immediately draws you in, and he is an exceptionally gracious individual who felt humbled to be speaking from the pulpit that the Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once spoke from.  It seemed only fitting that we have yet another prophetic voice in that of Rev. Schaefer's echoing off the stone walls as his words washed over us.  Rev. Schaefer spoke of how we are ALL children of God and that we must draw the circle ever wider.  Using the scripture of Jonah and his desire to avoid delivering the message of destruction to the people of Nineveh, Rev. Schaefer paints the theological argument that what is occurring in Jonah is the recognition of the Jewish peoples finding God in all places; during the exile, after the destruction of the temple; and that the goal is to find a way to welcome all people to the place of worship; that Jonah is written from the faction which desired to welcome all of God's children.  Rev. Schaefer implored us, the Church, to recognize that we need to be careful of what we say and how we say it.  Rev. Schaefer warned against our being the voice of exclusion, of spreading a "terrible message which causes so much harm." The good news is, Schaefer shared, that God is a God of grace and forgiveness, God spared the people of Nineveh as they are "120,000 children who do not know their right hand from their left. 120,000 of my beloved children." Schaefer concluded in saying, "God is all about grace.  God is all about unconditional love toward all of God's beloved children. There are no special elect groups from among God's children, we are all God's beloved children.  We are called, as United Methodists, as Christians, as Muslims, and Jewish believers, as Buddhists, to draw the circle ever wider."

After Rev. Schaefer's sermon, the Seminary Singers performed, "Things That Never Die," an arrangement by Lee Dengler with text by Charles Dickens, found below. 

The pure the bright,
the beautiful that stirred our hearts in youth,
the impulses to wordless prayer.
The streams of love and truth,
 the longing after something lost,
the Spirit's yearning cry, the striving after better hopes.
These things can never die!

The timid hand stretched forth to aid another in their need.
A kindly word in grief's dark hour that proves a friend indeed!
A plea for mercy softly breathed when justice threatens high!
The sorrow of a contrite heart.
These things shall never die!

Let nothing pass! For every hand must find some work to do.
Lose not a chance to waken love!
Be firm and just and true,
so shall a light that cannot fade, beam on thee from on high.
And angel voices say to thee,
These things can never die!

The poetry in this piece resonated ever so with the words of Rev. Schaefer which still lingered in the room. 

In the evening, Rev. Schaefer, joined by his wife and his son, Tim, held an informal Question and Answer session hosted by the Dean's Office and Sacred Worth, the LGBTQ club at the School of Theology.  His moving testimony of his experience instantly had me feeling as if I were in the presence of someone and something truly amazing.  He shared his story about what brought he and his wife and children to the United States from Germany, his journey into ministry, and his decision to officiate his son's wedding.  It was apparent from the start of the discussion that Rev. Schaefer is a man of deep integrity, deep love for his family, and also deep faith.  He is able to hold all three in conjunction, there doesn't seem to be a "but" in the equation.  His truth and eloquence in sharing his beliefs and his experiences left many pausing in silence.

I won't share everything from the experience of the day, but it left me riding high.  Another student and I spoke the entire ride home on the T (until his stop) about LGBTQ rights and recognitions in various Christian denominations, and when I was off the T I placed a phone call to my beloved Oma and MommaB to share my experience.  I will likely never forget this experience, and I am grateful to the Boston University School of Theology for this wonderfully moving, enlightening, and deeply spiritual event. 

For now, I retire to dreams of equality, love, and drawing the circle ever wider.  Amen.



*It was still Tuesday when I began this post.  

"Let's go for round two!" she says...

People, namely my Gramma, have been hinting that I need to post a new blog update.  It HAS been several months (a summer hiatus) since I've posted, so I'll admit that there is room for an infusion of information.  So, here goes.

I'm in week two of classes and week three of my internship.  A great joy that I can share from my experiences thus far with year two of seminary is that as theological, historical, and philosophical concepts are no longer completely foreign, I am finding my readings not only easier to comprehend but also easier to get through.  The first year of seminary taught me about coping with massive amounts of reading, perpetual stress, and always feeling behind.  In year two, I've wisened up a bit about how to do readings more effecively and have a better understanding of "what really counts."  

I've noted with year two that, as of right now, my head is still very much above water, which means that I'm feeling in a place where I can deconstruct information more effectively.  It's not as much of a situation as, "Wait, that reading said what?" with the goal being understanding, but is instead more a situation of, "Wait, that reading said what?! Let's deconstruct this."  So much of last year was new that I felt I was frequently grasping at anything I could merely to hold on through another week, but this year I feel more prepared to say, "I take objection to _____ in this text.  Can we reframe this into a more positive vision?"  

My courses this fall are: 

Introduction to Christian Worship

From Jesus to Christ

Integration of Theology and Practice (with Contextual Education)

Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling

Three of my four courses are hitting upon exploration of church setting, self-care, and how we can be effective in ministry; I'll let you guess as to which three those are.  My fourth course explores the transition from the historical Jesus to the Christ we know in the Gospels.  

My Contextual Education experience is at the First Congregational Church of Reading in Reading, Ma (I specify because some assume I'm commuting to Reading, PA each week).  It is an absolutely wonderful congregation that I am delighted to be journeying in ministry with.  In my time there, approximately ten months, I'll be working to co-lead Confirmation class, I will do pastoral care visits, I will engage youth in the church in youth-group type events, I will hold adult spiritual nurturing events, and I will preach eight times between now and mid-May.  My supervisor has been exceptionally supportive in allowing me to craft an experience which will not only assist me in learning about the multiple facets of church ministry but will also enable me to use the skills I already know I have to assist the church through its journey in these months.  I am so incredibly excited to journey with them, even if for just a short while.

I'm setting this year before myself to be one of exploration and understanding.  I wish to look critically at my life and work consciously on developing healthy habits which will serve me well in ministry.  

Delightfully, I am participating again this year in Seminary Singers, a true joy of my experience here in seminary.  Not only has my involvement been a truly wonderful way to meet and get to know some of the students in the years ahead of me, but it has been a way for me to worship while leading.  With each performance in a Wednesday service, there is a time where our singing ceases to be 'simply singing' but instead becomes a moment where I can feel the Spirit moving within me.  It is, for me, a form of Sabbath, and the connections I have made with these great people will stay with me forever.

As I draw this to a close (classwork does await), I'll simply state that I would not be where I am without the wonderful people in my life who have helped to shape and guide me to this place.  I will refrain from listing names, but if you have ever had an encounter with me of any kind, you have in some way assisted in forming me into who I am today and who I will be tomorrow, and I thank you. 

Life Lessons From the Bottle

I started this post back in March but was sidetracked by school.  I'm posting it now!

I have a group of friends, a foursome, who I study with regularly on Tuesday nights.  We all bring individual work, study, and chat a bit.  Some nights we chat more than others.  Some Tuesday nights are more productive than the last.  The one constant of each week is that we split a bottle of wine amongst the four of us.  And thus, I give you life lessons from my journey in taking up wine.

1) To let life really happen, you've got to uncork it.  Some wines need to breathe, I learned that in the last two weeks.  I still don't quite understand the science behind it, but uncorking a bottle and allowing it to sit and breathe made it much more enjoyable.  So uncork your life.  Push your boundaries, take in new sights, smells, and ideas, blow off some steam. 

2) Sometimes you have a good year (or season, or month, or week, or day, or holiday, or you get the point) and sometimes you have a bad one.  I've seen in the movies where someone in a restaurant will order a bottle of wine and the server will say something to the effect of, "Ah, yes.  Very good choice (insert form of address), a very good year!"  What does that even mean?!  I'm new to the whole wine drinking arena, but I've yet to find something I find completely unpalatable. But I guess it means that we all have good times and we all have bad times. NOTE: what one person considers a bad time might not be something another person would consider a bad time.  I'm not making a blanket statement that compares one's position of comfort/despair to another persons. 

3) You get what you pay for.  If you want a really nice bottle of wine, you're likely going to need to spend more than $7.99 (not that $7.99 wines are bad, some are actually quite fine).  Anyway, in life you get out of something what you put in.  If you want that promotion at work, you'd best work your tail off and prove you want it (and have earned it)!

4) But at the same time, looks can be deceiving.  Cork or twist top? Dark intriguing label or the pretty bright one?  I'm a fan of the cork tops mainly because I have an affinity for using a corkscrew.  Call me weird, it's okay.  But I also know that I've had some fairly decent wines which came from a twist-off bottle.  This speaks to me about not casting someone off as useless based upon the exterior presentation.

5) Life is better when spent in numbers.  It is largely safer to share a bottle of wine among friends than to drink it alone.  I've experienced drinking an entire bottle on my own in a sitting.  I was not pleasant to be around the next day..  If you share the bottle with people, it also means you can make connections over a common interest...namely, drinking wine.

I'll wrap this up here...What have YOU learned from a bottle of wine?

You Can't Preach Love While Standing in the Camp of Discrimination

Today in chapel, the guest preacher spoke on portions of Paul's letter to the Corinthians.  My notes include some of the following:

-You are a building built upon a foundation.  You are a building which was developed on a solid foundation that someone else has put time, energy, and love into creating.  If you're a Christian, that foundation was built by God (in addition to your parents) as an ultimate act of love.  Your role as a building is to build others so that they may build.  

-To be of Christ is to be of love, hope, and the power of life.

-People come to church for Salvation and Resurrection.

-It's not easy to make God angry... give up trying. 

-We are all of Christ.

Overall, not too bad a list.  It's fairly Christian centric, but it speaks to overarching values of love, grace, and hope.  

Truth time, I debated whether or not I would attend Boston University School of Theology because I am openly lesbian and was concerned about the United Methodist's current doctrine in the Book of Discipline which claims that homosexuality is incompatible with God's teaching.  I thought for a long time about whether I would be fully welcomed into a community which held doctrine in opposition to a part of my personhood.  Delightfully, I chose to come to BUSTh because I truly felt God calling me here to build the foundation of my ministry, and I feel that I made the right decision.  Not once have I been made to feel like my sexuality places me as a second class citizen.  Not once have I felt like I had to hide who I was.  Every day I have felt welcomed, loved, and held up as a child of God and someone with sacred worth.  Until today.  

I listened to the preacher as (in my perception) his strong sermon crumbled.  This person told of how he believes that LGBTQ persons are people of sacred worth.  This person then told of how he upholds the Book of Discipline and the doctrine against full welcoming of LGBTQ people in the church; he cited his belief in the scripture as his reason for doing so.  This person said that he didn't care what the result of the 2016 General Conference of the United Methodist Church was pertaining to this critical issue.  His final premise essentially is that we are all people of Christ, no matter what the outcome of the conference will be. 

You can't preach love while standing in discrimination.  The two concepts stand in direct opposition to each other.  To love someone is to welcome them fully in their entire personhood in everything that encompasses.  To suggest that someone is welcome as long as they do not disclose a part of who they are is to hold them in a state of limbo.  It says, "you're almost human, but not quite."  It suggests, "you're worthy of my respect if you don't tell the truth about who you are."  It upholds the status quo of people being treated as second class citizens.  It says, "you're not good enough."  Enough is enough.  

Unsurprisingly, I am not the only person who feels angered, hurt, and offended by what happened in chapel today.  It was an invasion and a gross abuse of our safe space.  I have never felt so out of place and hit from left field here at STH as I did today.  I felt personally attacked, as did many of my brothers and sisters.  Some of us left.  Some of us stayed.  Some of us took Communion.  Some of us didn't.  MANY of us cried.  Many of us held hands in comfort and solidarity. 

The question now is, where do we go from here? How do we move forward from this pain in productive ways?  How do we heal the wounds and scars?  

I am so damn sick and tired of people holding onto prejudices and sanctioning discrimination in the name of God.  I am exhausted by the continual flow of shit that is poured on other human beings.  I am disgusted by the culture of status quo that continually withholds God's love for all people.  Bottom line, it's bullshit.  It's garbage.  It needs to end.  What the hell needs to happen for people to come to the recognition that God is love in full and human equality?  It's particularly disheartening when someone taking his/her own life is not enough of a catalyst to see where people have done wrong and committed such egregious acts of hurt and pain.  I say it again, what the hell needs to happen? People are dying (literally and metaphorically) and the status quo continues.  

Indifference because "we're all of Christ" solves nothing.  Indifference because you might see all people as sacred and children of God regardless of what society at large tells you does nothing for ensuring the full equality and personhood of all people in the ministry and love of God.  ALL PEOPLE ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE!  ALL PEOPLE! To say otherwise is to be a church of exclusion.  To be a church of exclusion is to not truly be a church of Christ.  Christ worked with the people on the margins; the people who were undesirable, the people who were looked down upon, the people who were kicked to the curb.  Your indifference because we're all equal in the eyes of God does nothing to help bring people comfort and equality.  Your indifference asks people to sacrifice who they truly are, people of faith and whatever else they might be. 

I  am so glad I am a member of the United Church of Christ where I can be truly, honestly, and unapologetically who I am.  "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here."  But the UCC takes it a step beyond simply welcoming all people.  The UCC says, "we value you, we do not simply tolerate you." Toleration is the low hanging fruit.  Reach higher.  Climb that tree and find what grows higher up in the branches.  

Let me close with this:  The BUSTh community is phenomenal.  Through discussion, hugs, and shared laughter, we can make it through.  When you're feeling down, there are people who care who help pull you through.  

I may come back and edit this later.  I may not.  I may put more information in.  I may write a secondary follow-up blog post. I haven't decided.  

Week 5... Can't Sleep

It's 2am on a Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and I can't sleep.  Sadly, this isn't atypical.  It's a fairly regular thing for me to see 2:00 or later before being able to fall asleep, only to have to rise at 6:30 or 7:00 to make it to school on time.  It's not as if I try to stay up either.  I do my evening routine of brushing the chompers, washing the face, saying prayers, combing out my long mane, and then when I snuggle into bed...BAM!  The mind races and the body says, "let's do something!" Or maybe it's the mind that says, "let's do something!" it's hard to determine who the culprit is.  Warm milk, decaffeinated tea, my usual tricks... nothing seems to help. 

Oma would say, "what are you thinking about when you lie awake at night?" The short answer is, "I wish I could sleep!" while the longer and more truthful answer is likely to be "there's so much work to do and not enough time to do it all."  Cue anxiety and panic.  We're in week five of the semester and I still haven't been able to find the groove which allows me to get it all done.  Okay, I know that's an illusion and that there's no way to get it ALL done, but a woman can dream, right?  Alternate reality?  Time warp? TARDIS? So here we find ourselves... me writing away well past my bed time (if I still have one) while I wait to fall asleep. And you're going to say, "well of course you won't fall asleep if you're sitting up and typing!" to which I respond, "Well, I'm up for some reason, let's write and see what comes of it.  Maybe I'll clear out some junk, discern what is trying to be communicated, and start getting some sleep.  It can't hurt."  So now onto the news...

Seminary is great!  I can't say enough how much I'm enjoying my classes.  Each day offers a plethora of learning opportunities for one to engage in, and there are a multitude of wonderful people to share the day and life events with.  All in all, it's a great community of spectacular people, and I am grateful each day for the opportunity to be in ministry, fellowship, and community with them.
My classes are not only intellectually stimulating, but they are engaging in a way that brings ministry into a different picture.  It's enjoyable to be able to make connections between two classes which you might not think are connected.  Perhaps a fuller description of my class content is necessary, but I'll hold that off for another time. As it's now 2:48 and I'm starting to feel drowsy, we return to what prompted this late night posting.... I'm awake when I should be sleeping.

I believe I'm awake for a reason.  I'd much rather be sleeping, but something is calling me away from the land of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, so I'll sit and ponder a bit, listen even more, and feel for the beating drum in my soul. As I close this up for now, I'll leave you with Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.  And when I figure out what it is I'm supposed to know, I'll likely let you know. 

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

  by Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we,"
            Said Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
   That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—
   Never afraid are we!"
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam,—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
   As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea;
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15720#sthash.FcggyOyd.dpuf

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

  by Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we,"
            Said Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
   That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—
   Never afraid are we!"
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam,—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
   As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea;
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15720#sthash.FcggyOyd.dpuf

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

  by Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we,"
            Said Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
   That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—
   Never afraid are we!"
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam,—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
   As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea;
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
            Wynken,
            Blynken,
            And Nod.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15720#sthash.FcggyOyd.dpuf

Round 2

I haven't written in a while.  It's been far too long, in fact, but I know I'm forgiven. 

My first semester in seminary was a whirlwind of excitement, learning, and grappling with constructs and information.  I had a great semester, and my grades were all decent.  For someone who didn't grow up attending church, doesn't have an undergraduate degree in any form or theological or religious studies, and is all-in-all feeling like a newbie to this whole game, I fared quite well for my first semester.  And... I'm delighted to report that it was such a success that I'm getting ready to head into round two! 

My class schedule is as follows: BOLD is the class title, ITALICS is a discussion group

Monday: Nothing (which translates to library time)
Tuesday: 9:30 - 11am: Reading the World II
Tuesday: 11am - 12:30: Intro to New Testament
Tuesday: 1pm - 2pm Intro to New Testament Discussion Group
Wednesday: 10am - 11am: Reading the World II Discussion Group
Wednesday: 1pm - 5pm: Practicing Faith II and Discussion Group
Thursday: 9:30 - 11am: Reading the World II
Thursday: 11am - 12:30: Intro to New Testament
Thursday: 2pm - 5pm: Church in Late Antiquity
Friday: Nothing (which once again translates to library time)

In visual form, it looks like this:

It's looking to be a pretty favorable schedule, particularly when comparing last semester's Wednesday's to this semester's.

I'm looking forward to getting into the class work and seeing my friends again.  I'll post a life update in a couple days.