Like and Love, Ramblings of a Theologian in Progress

It occurred to me last night that it's been a bit since I've actually posted on this (appropriately as I'm typing, Jim Croce is singing "there never seems to be enough time to do the things we want to do" - such true words) because life's been a bit hectic. You may also notice that I'm writing in the 8 am hour, and yes I'm up at campus already by 8 or earlier everyday. Today, however, I'm struggling to concentrate on my Bonhoeffer reading so here we have a blog post. It's been almost 2 months since the move. I think we've more or less settled in to some sort of routine. I've settled into a routine since my day-to-day doesn't change weekly like Jack's does. Here's a general life update organized by the beverage I've come to associate most closely with it. Coffee No grad student will ever doubt that coffee is always in the back of their mind. We don't have a coffee maker (few people I know do). Every morning...

This past weekend seven of us ventured out of the city and into the Highlands of Scotland. Our tour guide was amazing. He's from Aberdeen and has been doing tours of the area for 25 years. Scotland is a beautiful and incredibly desolate country in the Northeast. Aberdeen is built from the gray granite that is local to the area. This is absolutely gorgeous in the sun. The light picks out the flecks of color in the stone. The city sparkles and glows. The highlands outside of the city are vast. At this time of the year the hills are covered with a violet heather. It's a muted purple, but with the green of the grass and the changing fall colors it's quite the spectacle. Colors are more vibrant here because of the rain fall that brings forth a variety of flowers and green grass. As beautiful as north east Scotland is, it's also incredibly bleak. The sun brings out the beauty of the city's stone, but the sun is absent for most of the year. Karl (our guide) said that...

I've been thinking what it means to trust since I went to bed last night. I blame my dear friend (and fantastic writer Seth ) for posting an adorable picture of his son and our pastor Steve yesterday. Seth wrote that it was an important moment in their family's life because it was the first time Steve asked his son to trust him. I've been mulling it over precisely because of the weightiness that Seth attached to this question. What does it mean to trust? (And I strongly suggest that it isn't hoping that your fellow youth or co-workers are going to catch you if you fall backwards into their arms...) This past month has seemed like an adventure in living in a perpetual trust that things will get to an equilibrium. Jack and I have said "trust me [....]" more times than I can count. We, as a society, use this phrase so flippantly at times, to reassure those around us, that I'm not positive that casually asking someone to "trust" involves any mo...

I should have paid more attention in my Reformation Theology course. Let me rephrase that, I should have realized how subtle the wording among the various denominations of the Reformation are(specifically the Magisterial and Radical varieties) because those differences are beginning to become very apparent. Looking for a new church home is exhausting (partially because walking to most churches is 45 minute ordeal both ways). Being a fairly liturgical, progressive Baptist in Northeast Scotland is down right impossible. If you find yourself in this position, you might ask yourself, "Does the said church I'm visiting have/do the following?" The initial list: - do we sing with a hymnal or with a projector? - is there a worship band? choir? organ? - will I have to greet people at some point? - how long is the service? - is the sermon going to be something other than a dry exegesis? The nitty-grittier stuff: - What are your views on women in ministry? - A...

Now that we have internet (YAY!) it's become apparent that the Scottish Referendum taking place at this very moment has become more of an international news story than I previously thought. It's one thing for NPR to be writing about it- that's part of the reason I like reading NPR. However- 1. The Daily Show had one or more segments on the vote 2. Stephen Colbert dressed in full kilt garb for a segment 3. Simpson's character Groundskeeper Willie has a short video on why Scotland should become independent To say that it's the main topic of conversation on Scottish news is an understatement. There are windows proudly waving Scottish flags with "yes" on them. The billboard of the way to the grocer's has a "yes" advertisement on one side and a "no" advertisement on the other. We've received numerous pamphlets through the mail slot. This past weekend a campaigner even came to our door to ask Jack how he was g...

I’m so close to having a consistent internet connection. So very close. We’re at a week without a consistent connection, which wouldn’t seem that terrible except it’s the longest I’ve gone without one and it’s one of the few points in my life where it really is advantageous to communicate using the web. But while Jack is on campus for orientation, I have a reason to also be on campus. I struggled with the wi-fi on Tuesday and after 40 minutes I was finally able to connect. Sadly, my iphone took all of 40 seconds. Too bad I can’t do all of my research and writing from a phone. I’ve been promising our families pictures of our flat since we got here last week. Hopefully this will get passed around so that everyone can see. Outside Aberdeen is the gray city. It earns this reputation because everything is carved out of the same gray granite stone. Unfortunately the sky is gray and cloudy 75% of the time. I, however, like overcast weather and the cool temperature is suiting ...

I blame Tom Petty for finally feeling overwhelmingly homesick. In reality I should blame my subconscious, but I live with that constantly and the likelihood that I’ll ever meet Tom Petty is low. The last three days have been a whirl of frenetic energy. We arrived after almost 15 hours of travel (Luftansa is amazing by the way) and Chris, Sarah, and Kelli greeted us, helped us get our things inside, and then wisely put us on a bus to go get lunch and bed linens. I don’t remember much from our first day here. I’m surprised that I can recall how to get to the grocery store because of how little sleep I had gotten in the last 24 hours. But we stayed up until 9 pm and I fell into a fitful first night’s sleep. The next day was clearer. I discovered that I had bought too large of bread for our toaster, but had toast nonetheless. Sarah led us downtown so that we could open up a Scottish Bank account (true story- the bank computing system doesn’t do suffixes so adding the III after Jac...

We are down to the 30 minute mark before the car that will take us to the airport picks us up. My life has been condensed into two 60 lb. bags and two carry-ons. I know I should feel anxious right now, but I really just feel exhausted. The last two weeks have been a flurry of movement. We moved out of our first home to move to another country. We've moved from one good-bye to another. I moved from an iPhone to a phone that would make a 2007 Blackberry look high tech. And so far I haven't cried (except when dropping off the cats). I've held it together because I know as soon as I realize the enormity which is about to happen I'm going to lose it in a very profound way. I'm relieved that by the point this hits me, we'll be on a plane and I'll hopefully have taken something to help me sleep on the way to Frankfurt. I wanted to write something profound as a "here we go" post, but I've been putting this off and suddenly I've run out of time ...

I have never considered myself to be athletic. I don't know that I ever will, although if you gave me a list of words to describe me and I had to choose I would no longer automatically dismiss that word as a descriptor. Maybe I'm becoming athletic or maybe over the course of the last year I've become an athlete. I don't know. At some point in my life I made the subconscious decision that I was a book person. For reasons I don't remember, being a book person and being athletic didn't coexist except for in the exceptionally gifted. I blame Mallory from the Baby-Sitters' Club for this. She was super smart and sup uncoordinated. Although Claudia wasn't very bright or athletic either so there's a gaping hole in this theory. It doesn't help that I lack very good hand-eye coordination and that most sports you play in elementary school involve balls and aim. I wish that it hadn't taken me so long to realize that there are some athletic pursuits t...

Applying to graduate school is not a walk in the park. It's more like being on the Amazing Race. A feat of one's endurance and scrappiness. Applying to graduate school in the UK is partially easier, given that there are no standardized tests to take, or would be if not for the 6 hour time difference. I knew that applying to grad school wasn't an easy process- our friends discovered the Something Awful Guide to Graduate Schools in 2007 and I wholly endorse it as an accurate description of how it feels to apply to a program. Even more accurately, it reflects the scavenger hunt of applying for a Visa to study in another country. The United Kingdom has fairly few piece of paperwork that they want compared to the US. Yet, they want proof that the school wants you, proof that you can pay for it, proof that you aren't a terrible criminal, a ridiculous fee, your fingerprints, and passport photos. Not US passport photos, but UK ones that are slightly smaller and bound to...