B.F.S.

Friday evening I fly to Chicago to spend the weekend with "best friend Stephanie". I am really looking forward to being with her. Steph is a friend that knows my heart and I value every conversation and any time spent with her. This pic is from A LONG time ago...in the beginning of Steph and Jenn Conquer the World! :)

a reflection from the mountain top

Today I've been thinking about seasons of life. I always seem very aware of the hard times or the valleys I go through. In those times I question God a lot and speak to Him out of despair. In those times I look back at past seasons that seem happier and I question why I didn't realize the mountain top I was on when I was living in that moment.
Recently I've been struck with the realization that I'm on a mountain top...currently. I feel like I'm in the midst of where God is working and I'm feeling so blessed by that. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that this feels rare... to recognize the mountain top while I'm on it.
A favorite praise song of mine is Blessed Be Your Name. I got to sing it today. When I was singing it I was thinking about how many times I've sung that song and connected with the "Blessed be your name, When I'm found in the desert place, Though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed be your name" part. Today I found myself connecting with the "Blessed be your name, In the land that is plentiful, Where the streams of abundance flow, Blessed be your name" part.
God is so good. I'm seeing Him work in the lives of those around me and in my own. It will be really hard for this school year to end. I'm not quite ready for that. Things don't seem to be winding down yet, but the calendar tells me otherwise. I feel myself fighting the end and resisting to allow the beginning of my mourning process. I'm glad I'm here...in this struggle to let something good come to a close.

Boston

In early March I went to Boston for a week. I went to a NASPA conference there and stayed at this incredible hotel. I was able to see some sights...not everything, but I did see Old North Church, the Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, Harvard, and Paul Revere's house.
Well, I just now got out my camera to upload the photos I took on this trip. Below are the majority of the pictures I took. Apparently, Copps Hill Burial Ground was the highlight for me. I have practically no other pictures from this trip...

Hope?

A few days ago I received the most recent edition of Response Magazine... Seattle Pacific University's award winning publication that comes quarterly. :) This edition focuses on hope and particularly on the life of Jurgen Moltmann, the author of Theology of Hope. I have yet to read this book or really become too familiar with the theologian. So upon receiving this magazine in the mail, I began to read about Jurgen Moltmann's life.

Jurgen Moltmann is a German man. He grew up in good home that valued education. He was well read and intelligent. He was drafted into the German army during World War II. I'm sure that he questioned very little, serving his country in this way. I'm sure that just like any citizen of any country, he felt compelled to be faithful and serve his country and people. At the end of the war he surrendered to the British and was taken as a prisoner of war. During his time at the POW camp he was presented with stories and pictures of concentration camps and extermination camps. As a prisoner of war, he began to understand the role that he indirectly played in the Holocaust. The Holocaust...genocide. Millions of people exterminated. He was presented with this horror and presented with the responsibility he had in it.

As I was reading this article, I couldn't read past this point. The point where Jurgen realizes that he has indirectly played a role in a mass genocide and must therefore take some sort of responsibility for his country's actions. In fact, reading this led me to tears. I felt so broken for Jurgen and for the other German soldiers who were clueless of the impact of their loyalty to their country. Then, I began to ask questions...

Often times I become a bit depressed and feel guilt about being a US citizen. I had no choice in becoming a US citizen and most of the time I am grateful that I am one. But sometimes I wonder if what I am doing, even indirectly by being a US citizen, is having a negative impact on the lives of others and if that is something I will be held accountable for. What am I doing to be responsible with the gift of US citizenship I have been given? What are the injustices that the US is a part of right now that I am ignorant to? What is my role? Where is the line of my responsibility to the US? Will I ever be presented with a huge injustice that I am indirectly responsible for?

Spring

I always forget how much I miss the sun or how much of the year it is cloudy in Beaver Falls. The last 2 days have been beautiful! The sun is shining and it is a little bit warmer! Today I was speaking with a student about my excitement for spring and for the trees to bloom. I told her about how I paid close attention to the process last year and that the trees seemed to sprout leaves over night. She just laughed at me. I guess she doesn't share my same excitement or careful attention to leaves on trees.
So once again, I am energized by the spring and this changing season. When the seasons change I always feel a little more connected to the rest of creation. It's refreshing and humbling to feel so much a part of the earth. Spring represents hope, transition, newness and life. This year, possibly unlike any other...I resonate with Spring. I feel energized by new hope. I'm looking forward to transition. I see new and exciting things on the horizon. And mostly, I feel like a refreshing new life has been breathed into me over the last month and half.

Conspiracy Theory

I was in the Salvation Army Thrift Store the other day during a one-on-one with Lee-Anna, one of the RAs that works for me. As we were rummaging (at thrift stores you don't shop, peruse, or browse...you rummage) for some good items, I was telling Lee-Anna about a conversation I had with my dad the night before. This conversation was about politics. My dad had recently listened to Bill Clinton speak on behalf of Hillary. I shared with my dad that I had recently attended a town hall meeting that Barack Obama spoke at. So we were exchanging information we had learned about these two candidates in an attempt to educate each other. I gave Lee-Anna a short recap of my convo with my dad and then we parted ways (to do more rummaging).
As Lee-Anna walked away a man who was standing behind me said, "Tell your dad to stay home on election day." I said, "Excuse me?" Then he proceeded to tell me about how the CIA controls every election and that our votes don't really count. He said, "It's all rigged and the CIA determines who wins in elections. If you don't believe me, go to http://www.blackboxvoting.org/." I told him I would check it out and then I avoided the man with the conspiracy theory for the rest of our time in Sal Val (that is what people here call the Salvation Army). So, do you think it's true?